'Concealment of Newborn Death Incident' Medical Staff at Bundang CHA Hospital Also Sentenced to Prison in Appeal Trial

Law: "Avoiding Responsibility with Unconvincing Claims"

Medical staff at Bundang CHA Hospital, who were charged with concealing the fact that a newborn was dropped and died, were sentenced to prison in the second trial as well.

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Doctors at Bundang CHA Hospital who were accused of concealing evidence related to medical negligence that caused a newborn to die after being dropped on the floor were sentenced to prison in the appellate court as well.

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Appeal Division 9 (Presiding Judge Han-don Choi) on the morning of the 11th sentenced obstetricians Moon and Lee, who were tried for violating the Medical Service Act and evidence tampering, to 2 years in prison and a fine of 3 million KRW, the same as the original trial. Additionally, the deputy director Jang, who oversaw hospital operations, was sentenced to 2 years in prison, and doctor Lee, who dropped the newborn, was sentenced to 1 year in prison and fined 3 million KRW. The hospital, which was prosecuted under the corporate liability rule (which punishes both the perpetrator and the affiliated corporation), had its original acquittal overturned and was fined 10 million KRW.

The court stated, "The defendants concealed the cause of this incident and, during the investigation, instead of admitting fault, avoided responsibility with claims that are difficult to accept by general social standards," adding, "Even though there was a settlement with the guardians, it seems difficult to avoid severe punishment." However, the court added, "Considering that the defendants have no prior criminal records and have diligently practiced medicine under the Medical Service Act until now, the original sentences were mostly maintained."

Doctor Lee of Bundang CHA Hospital was charged in 2016 with causing the death of a newborn delivered by cesarean section after dropping the baby on the floor. Attending physicians Moon and Lee are accused of hiding the newborn’s death from the guardians and recording the cause of death as 'natural death' in the medical records, thereby concealing related suspicions for over three years.

The court upheld most of the charges against the medical staff as in the original trial. It also rejected the claim that there was no causal relationship between dropping the newborn and the death. The court stated, "Even though the baby was born underweight, it is clear that the fall increased the mortality risk." The court also recognized the charges that Moon and others deleted some medical records related to the fall, conspired to avoid an autopsy, and proceeded with cremation.

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