Resident sentenced to 3 years in prison for patient death due to excessive painkiller administration... Prosecutors appeal, claiming "unfair sentencing"

A plastic surgery resident was sentenced to prison in the first trial for overdosing a patient with painkillers, resulting in death, but the prosecution appealed, arguing that the sentencing was unfair.

On the 17th, Judge Lee Min-ji of the Criminal Division 4 at the Seoul Eastern District Court sentenced Yoon, a plastic surgery resident at Hanyang University Hospital, to three years in prison and a fine of 1 million won on charges including professional negligence causing death and violation of the Medical Service Act.

Yoon is accused of overdosing a man in his 30s, who was recovering after surgery in 2014, with the narcotic painkiller fentanyl, causing his death (professional negligence causing death). He is also charged with violating the Medical Service Act by failing to record the administration of fentanyl in the medical records to conceal the incident.

The police began an investigation in 2019 and reportedly requested a medical accident appraisal from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which concluded that the cause of death was fentanyl overdose.

The prosecution appealed to the court, citing unfair sentencing.

The prosecution stated the reason for the appeal: "Yoon caused the victim's death by overdosing fentanyl, denied the crime, and tried to conceal his wrongdoing. He also did not receive forgiveness from the bereaved family."

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