State Covered 39 Million Won in Choi Soon-sil's Hospital Bills... Hasn't Recovered a Penny in Five Years

Fell at detention center, underwent shoulder surgery

Hospital bills remain unrecovered more than five years after state paid them

First-instance ruling due on October 15... statute of limitations at issue

The state paid about 39 million won in hospital bills for Choi Seo-won, who is serving a prison sentence over former President Park Geun-hye’s state affairs scandal, but has yet to recover the money more than five years later. Whether correctional authorities, which filed a lawsuit belatedly, can recover the amount will depend on the court’s ruling.

Choi Soonsil. The Asia Business Daily DB

According to Yonhap News Agency on October 8, documents submitted by the Ministry of Justice to the office of Kim Yong-min of the Democratic Party of Korea show that the Seoul Eastern Detention Center paid 39.27 million won on Choi’s behalf for medical treatment on October 23, 2020.

Choi, then being held at the Seoul Eastern Detention Center, slipped and fell in a bathhouse in July 2019. From May to July 2020, she underwent shoulder surgery and received treatment at Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital.

The issue arose during the settlement of her medical bills. When Choi did not pay them for financial reasons, the Seoul Eastern Detention Center covered the cost on October 23, 2020. The detention center also sent her a notice demanding payment five days later.

However, time passed without any significant steps to recover the money. Correctional authorities did not learn that the hospital bills had been paid on Choi’s behalf until November 2025, when they instructed the Seoul Eastern Detention Center to file a lawsuit. The center filed a reimbursement claim against Choi on November 25, 2025.

Lawsuit Filed Five Years Later... Key Issue Is the Statute of Limitations

The key issue in the trial is whether the statute of limitations had expired. Under the National Finance Act, monetary claims held by the state are generally subject to a five-year statute of limitations. However, the statute of limitations may be interrupted if the state has issued a notice demanding payment.

Choi’s side argues that the five-year period should be counted from October 23, 2020, when the state paid the hospital bills on her behalf. Since five years had already passed by the time the lawsuit was filed on November 25, 2025, it argues that the state’s right to claim reimbursement had expired.

The state, on the other hand, argues that the notice demanding payment of the medical expenses, which Choi received on October 28, 2020, qualifies as a payment notice under the National Finance Act. It therefore maintains that the five-year period should be counted from November 28 of that year, the day after the 30-day payment deadline expired, and that the statute of limitations had not expired when the lawsuit was filed.

Parties Also Disagree Over Who Should Pay the Medical Bills

The two sides also disagree over who should have paid the hospital bills in the first place. Choi’s side says she never expressed an intention to pay for treatment herself and argues that correctional authorities are responsible for ensuring that detainees receive necessary medical care.

The state countered that it does not automatically bear all medical expenses incurred during detention. In particular, it maintains that there is evidence Choi expressed her intention to pay for her own treatment.

The Seoul Central District Court’s Civil Division 210, sitting as a single-judge panel, presided over by Judge Kim Doyo, is scheduled to issue its first-instance ruling in the case at 2 p.m. on October 15, 2026.

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