Sharp Dispute Between Staff and School in Injunction Trial Over Seoul Baek Hospital Closure

Faculty and staff opposing the closure of Seoul Baek Hospital clashed in court with the school foundation that decided to close it.

Employees opposing the closure hold placards at Baek Hospital in Jung-gu, Seoul, where the board meeting regarding the closure of Seoul Baek Hospital was held. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

The Civil Division 51 of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Jeon Boseong) held a hearing on the 16th for the injunction application to suspend the effect of the hospital closure resolution filed by 263 professors and staff of Seoul Baek Hospital against the school foundation Inje Hakwon.

The faculty and staff side pointed out, "Overall, the affiliated hospital is in a surplus state," and "The local community opposes it, and even the Ministry of Health and Welfare sees it as a problem, so we question the reason for deciding to close it." They also argued, "The closure resolution violated the articles of incorporation and there are procedural issues," adding, "Closure is equivalent to reducing the school grounds and thus constitutes a change of use, so according to the Private School Act, approval from the Ministry of Education is required, but this was not obtained."

Inje Hakwon countered, "The management deterioration has been ongoing for 20 years, and we operated a management normalization task force (TF) for seven years, even receiving external consulting to explore various recovery plans, but we made the painful decision that it is difficult to maintain the hospital through self-help efforts." They further explained, "To minimize damage, we proposed a plan to the board of directors based on maintaining employment for all staff, and the resolution was unanimously passed."

They also argued, "We question whether the faculty and staff have a legal interest in this matter," adding, "The closure procedure is already underway, and if its effect is lost, the economic loss would be enormous, potentially harming not only Inje University faculty and staff but also students."

The court requested both parties to submit additional materials by the 6th of next month. The conclusion is expected after the end of medical services. The Inje Hakwon board decided to close Seoul Baek Hospital in June due to financial difficulties. The hospital plans to end all patient treatments by the 31st. Faculty and staff opposed this and filed an injunction application on the 4th.

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