Psychiatric Hospital Director Fined for Admitting Patient Without Guardian Consent

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The director of a psychiatric hospital was fined for admitting patients without properly verifying their guardians.

On the 6th, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Noh Jeonghee) announced that it upheld the fine of 3 million won imposed by the lower court on psychiatric hospital director Mr. A, who was indicted for violating the Mental Health Act and the National Health Insurance Act.

Mr. A was accused of admitting 84 mentally ill patients between 2015 and 2016 without obtaining documents that could verify their guardians. The Mental Health Act stipulates that mentally ill patients can be admitted only with the consent of two guardians or a specialist's opinion, and in such cases, documents such as a family relation certificate must be used to confirm the guardianship.

Additionally, Mr. A was also accused of collecting approximately 13 million won in nursing care benefits by not discharging 20 patients who no longer needed hospitalization.

During the trial, Mr. A admitted to admitting patients without the guardian documents but claimed that he later supplemented the documents and that actual discharge procedures were carried out after discharge orders were issued.

The first trial court recognized Mr. A's charges and sentenced him to a fine of 5 million won. The second trial court largely agreed with the first court's judgment but adjusted the fine to 3 million won, considering that Mr. A committed the offense due to a lack of proper understanding of the relevant laws.

The Supreme Court also affirmed the fine, stating, "There is no error in the lower court's judgment regarding the joint perpetration of the violation of the Mental Health Act and the application of the joint penalty provision."

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