Yoon Seok-yeol Faces Counterattack from Lee Jae-myung: "Serious Harm from Mother-in-law's Hospital Management... Prosecutor General Yoon's Involvement Must Also Be Investigated"

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, urged the government to come up with fundamental measures, saying that the arrest of Choi Eun-soon, mother-in-law of former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, "clearly revealed the seriousness of office-manager hospitals." Furthermore, he claimed that it is necessary to investigate whether former Prosecutor General Yoon was involved in the case of Choi, who was not indicted six years ago.

On the 5th, through a post titled "Eradicating Office-Manager Hospitals is More Important Than Whose Mother-in-Law It Is" on Facebook, Governor Lee said, "After (former Prosecutor General Yoon’s mother-in-law) Choi Eun-soon was legally detained, reporters asked many questions," adding, "It is also important to determine whether former Prosecutor General Yoon was involved in the process of her arrest, considering she was not even indicted six years ago."

He continued, "There is a more fundamental problem in this case. Choi Eun-soon, who is not a medical professional, was arrested on charges of opening a nursing hospital and embezzling nursing care benefits amounting to 2.2 billion won," pointing out the severity of the damage caused by office-manager hospitals.

Furthermore, he said, "The scale of health insurance financial leakage caused by office-manager hospitals like Choi’s reached 3.5 trillion won as of the end of 2020," adding, "Comparing the average annual medical fee claims that hint at the scale of fraudulent claims, the medical fee per case is 88,000 won at general medical institutions, whereas it is 255,000 won at office-manager hospitals, which is three times higher."

He also stated, "The number of hospitalization days is more than double, at 36.4 days versus 75 days (for office-manager hospitals compared to general hospitals), and the hospitalization cost per person is 1.7 times higher," adding, "Even by looking at simple objective indicators, the reality of office-manager hospitals is revealed. This is why the public expresses anger that the state is neglecting tax thieves."

Governor Lee said, "Gyeonggi Province has been cracking down on office-manager hospitals year-round to reduce the damage to residents caused by such hospitals. Last December, after a seven-month investigation by the provincial special judicial police?the first among local governments nationwide?six people were booked and 6.7 billion won was requested to be recovered," adding, "The related parties were sent to the prosecution with an indictment opinion."

However, he pointed out the problems with current laws, saying, "Office-manager hospitals are not decreasing despite crackdowns; rather, they continue to increase," and "Due to a lack of investigative personnel, detection is poor, and even when detected, punishments are lenient."

Governor Lee said, "Currently, in the National Assembly, judicial police duty laws and medical law amendments proposed by Representative Jeong Chun-sook and several other lawmakers to eradicate office-manager hospitals are pending," urging, "The amendments should be passed as soon as possible to enhance the effectiveness of crackdowns and punishments."

He further emphasized, "There can be no distinction between ruling and opposition parties on the path to protecting the lives and safety of the people and advancing medical welfare, and political interests should not be prioritized in creating a society equal before the law," adding, "This controversy should lead to revealing the damage caused by office-manager hospitals and establishing fundamental measures, rather than focusing on whose mother-in-law it is."

Meanwhile, on the 1st, former Prosecutor General Yoon directly criticized Governor Lee’s remarks at the Yi Yuk-sa Literature Museum in Andong, Gyeongbuk, where Lee said, "South Korea could not cleanse pro-Japanese collaborators and did not start the country cleanly due to collaboration with the U.S. occupation forces," stating, "Self-historical distortion is absolutely unacceptable."

In response, Governor Lee fired back on Facebook on the 4th, saying, "It is regrettable that old-fashioned, color-based attacks distorted and manipulated my remarks."

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