Gyeonggi Province Investigates Disruption of Medical Services at Southern Gyeonggi Trauma Center After Lee Guk-jong's Departure

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province launched an on-site investigation on the 5th to verify the facts regarding various allegations recently raised against Ajou University Hospital, including obstruction of treatment for severe trauma patients, refusal of treatment, and manipulation of medical records.

The province announced that it formed an investigation team together with the Civil Affairs Special Judicial Police Unit and the Yeongtong-gu Public Health Center in Suwon City for this investigation. Through the investigation team, the province is collecting hospital bed status, operating room records, internal and external official documents, and is also receiving and cross-checking data from related agencies such as the 119 emergency activity records from the Gyeonggi Fire and Disaster Headquarters.

This investigation is conducted under the 'Medical Service Act' (Article 61) through relevant public officials to verify whether there has been any violation of the Medical Service Act. The province plans to prepare necessary legal measures or countermeasures based on the investigation results.

The current Medical Service Act (Article 15) stipulates that in case of refusal of treatment violations, depending on the detailed items, the medical professional may face a one-month suspension of their medical license, imprisonment of up to one year, or a fine of up to 10 million won. Article 22 (Manipulation of Medical Records) states that violations may result in a one-month suspension of the medical license, imprisonment of up to three years, or a fine of up to 30 million won.

The investigation concerns issues revealed through recent media reports, including the temporary closure (bypass) of the Southern Gyeonggi Regional Trauma Center caused by Ajou University Hospital’s systematic obstruction of trauma patient treatment, refusal to treat emergency patients at that time, suspicion of unauthorized use of the trauma-dedicated operating room at Ajou University Hospital, and manipulation of medical records.

A provincial official emphasized, "Gyeonggi Province has been striving to reduce mortality from severe trauma by signing an agreement with the Southern Gyeonggi Regional Trauma Center to establish a 'severe trauma patient transfer system' and by introducing the nation's first 24-hour emergency medical 'Doctor Helicopter' last year. This investigation is to protect the lives of residents, and we will thoroughly investigate whether the recent allegations are true and correct any violations if found."

Earlier, on the 29th of last month, Lee Guk-jong, head of the Southern Gyeonggi Regional Trauma Center, submitted his resignation electronically after conflicts with Ajou University Hospital. Ajou University Hospital accepted his resignation on the 4th of this month.

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