'Amid Emergency Room Search and Seizure Controversy'... Senior Police Officials Visit Ajou University Hospital

Following controversy over a police search and seizure, seven specialists at Ajou University Hospital’s Pediatric Specialized Emergency Medical Center expressed their intention to resign, prompting senior police officials to visit the hospital in person. The visit is seen as an effort by police to contain the situation amid growing opposition from the medical community.

Yonhap News Agency

According to police and other sources on October 29, Jung Sangjin, director of the National Police Agency’s Criminal Affairs Bureau, and Kim Honggeun, acting chief of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, visited Ajou University Hospital at around 2 p.m. that day and met with hospital director Jo Jaeho and Pediatric Emergency Medical Center chief Lee Jisook.

The controversy stemmed from the death of a 5-month-old infant who was brought to Ajou University Hospital with symptoms of cyanosis this past July. After receiving a complaint from the bereaved family in late August, the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency carried out a search and seizure at the hospital’s pediatric emergency center and other locations on September 30.

The medical community strongly protested, saying police had conducted an overbearing investigation without taking into account the unique circumstances of emergency medical care. In a statement, the Korean Society of Pediatric Emergency Medicine criticized the search, saying, "The sudden arrival of investigative personnel and on-site execution inevitably distract medical staff and disrupt the flow of treatment, making it a highly dangerous approach that could even lead to safety incidents." It added, "Issuing a search warrant against a hospital and medical staff who have cooperated fully with the investigation was an excessive measure."

Police, meanwhile, maintain that they conducted the search and seizure in a way that did not interfere with treatment, taking the nature of the emergency room into account. Police responded, "Given the nature of the emergency room, we took special care to avoid disrupting medical work and to inspect only the interior layout in the shortest time possible."

The matter was also raised during National Assembly audits by the Public Administration and Security Committee on October 13 and the Health and Welfare Committee on October 27. Ham Youngwook, head of the metropolitan investigation division at the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, appeared at the audit on October 28 and said, "I have deep respect for the dedication of medical staff who work to protect the lives of the public, and I regret any disruption to treatment." However, he maintained that there had been no problem with the search and seizure procedure itself.

After the National Assembly audit, seven of the nine specialists at Ajou University Hospital’s Pediatric Specialized Emergency Medical Center reportedly informed the hospital of their intention to resign.

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