Six Including Director of Incheon Spine Specialty Hospital Arrested on Charges of Proxy Surgery

Three co-directors and three administrative staff members of a spine specialty hospital in Incheon, suspected of 'proxy surgery,' are entering the Incheon District Court on the afternoon of the 31st to undergo a pre-arrest detention hearing (warrant review).
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Six people, including the director of a spine specialty hospital in Incheon, have been arrested by the police on charges of proxy surgery.

The Metropolitan Investigation Unit of the Incheon Police Agency arrested three co-directors, including Mr. A, and three administrative staff, including Mr. B, from a spine specialty hospital in Incheon on the 31st on charges of violating the Special Act on the Control of Health Crimes. Three of them were also additionally charged with fraud.

Judge Jung Wooyoung, head of the warrant division at the Incheon District Court, conducted a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant review) in the afternoon and issued the arrest warrants, citing "risk of flight."

Mr. A and others are suspected of repeatedly performing illegal medical acts in the operating room since February this year by having administrative staff, who are not doctors, make incisions or suture patients' surgical sites.

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

The police believe the hospital conducted proxy surgeries to reduce doctors' labor costs while accommodating many patients within limited time and have investigated, booking 15 hospital officials and applying for arrest warrants for six of them. Among the nine booked are two doctors, nurses, and administrative staff.

However, the hospital reportedly denies all allegations of proxy surgery and other illegal medical practices.

The hospital, designated as a spine specialty medical institution by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, opened in 2006 with 64 beds and expanded in 2013 to increase the number of beds to 106.

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