Human Leg Found in Incheon Suspected to Be Medical Waste Disposed of by Convalescent Hospital

The police are focusing their investigation on the possibility that the body part found at a public recycling facility in Incheon may be medical waste.

The Incheon Yeonsu Police Station announced on June 18 that they are investigating the likelihood that the left human leg discovered on June 10 originated from medical waste disposed of by a convalescent hospital in Incheon.

A human leg was found at the Southern Incheon Resource Recovery Center. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the police, a staff member at the hospital informed them on the same day that "the human leg found at the Songdo-dong Resource Recovery Center in Incheon on June 10 is presumed to have been disposed of by our hospital."

The police are investigating the specific circumstances under which it was discarded, based on statements from hospital personnel. Under current waste management law, medical waste that includes human tissue is required to be collected and transported separately in designated containers from other types of waste.

In line with this, the police have requested an urgent genetic analysis from the National Forensic Service, believing that the leg is likely to be a part of a patient currently undergoing treatment at the hospital. The police plan to compare the DNA of the discovered body part with the patient's genetic information.

Previously, at approximately 2:28 p.m. on June 10, an employee sorting recyclables at the Southern Area Resource Recovery Center in Songdo-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, discovered a human leg.

Based on the results of the analysis by the National Forensic Service, the police have been investigating the case under the assumption that the leg belongs to an adult with a height of approximately 161–165 cm.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.