'Proxy Surgery Suspicion' Incheon Spine Specialty Hospital... Police Seek Arrest Warrants for Hospital Director and 6 Others

The police are conducting a search and seizure at a spine specialty hospital in Incheon suspected of proxy surgery.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] The police have requested arrest warrants for the hospital director and others at a spine specialty hospital in Incheon suspected of performing surrogate surgeries.

The Metropolitan Investigation Unit of the Incheon Police Agency announced on the 25th that they have booked 15 people, including joint hospital director Mr. A, at a spine specialty hospital in Incheon on charges of violating the Special Act on the Control of Health Crimes and the Medical Service Act, and have requested pre-arrest warrants for six of them.

Among the six for whom pre-arrest warrants were requested, three are joint hospital directors who are doctors, and the remaining three are administrative staff who performed surrogate surgeries. The nine others booked without detention include two doctors, nurses, and administrative staff.

A pre-arrest warrant is requested for suspects whose custody has not yet been secured. This differs from the usual arrest warrant, which is requested within 48 hours after securing the suspect’s custody through emergency arrest or an arrest warrant.

Mr. A and others are suspected of repeatedly performing illegal medical acts from February this year until recently, such as having administrative staff, who are not doctors, make incisions or suture patients’ surgical sites in the operating room.

The 10-hour video footage secured by the police shows an administrative staff member making an incision on the patient’s lower back lying on the operating table, followed by the hospital director, who is a doctor, performing surgery for about five minutes, and then another administrative staff member suturing the site.

The police also conducted a search and seizure at the hospital, securing 10 mobile phones belonging to the joint hospital directors and some administrative staff, as well as electronic medical record (EMR) server data and internal CCTV footage.

However, the hospital side is reported to be fully denying the allegations of surrogate surgeries and other illegal medical acts.

A police official stated, "We requested pre-arrest warrants for some suspects because we judged the charges to be serious," and added, "Among the 15 booked, some may receive non-prosecution decisions during the prosecution referral process."

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