Doctor referring to head-injured emergency patient as 'ttukbaegi' faces criticism even among doctors

Doctors Who Referred to Head-Injured Emergency Patient as 'Ttukbaegi'
Apology Posted Amid Growing Controversy... "Will Prevent Recurrence"
Rising Criticism Over "Inappropriate Remarks"

Medical staff at a university hospital emergency room referred to a patient with a head injury as a "ttukbaegi," a fact that was revealed belatedly and sparked public outrage. In response to the controversy, the university hospital issued an apology to the patient and their guardians through an official notice.

Photo by Jo Yongjun, Asia Economy

According to the Gyeongnam Domin Ilbo on the 10th, on the evening of the 7th at around 10:10 PM, the parents of a patient who suffered a head injury while riding a bicycle in the Gyeongnam region inquired whether the emergency room at SMG Yonsei Hospital in Masanhappo-gu, Changwon, Gyeongnam, was available for treatment. They were met with such offensive language from the medical staff. At that time, the hospital informed them that "there are many patients waiting, so the wait time would be over two hours," and since the treatment was urgent, the parents eventually sought care at another hospital.

The problem arose while the medical staff in the emergency room were discussing the patient's visit schedule. The staff were overheard by waiting patients saying things like, "Where did the ttukbaegi go?", "Is the ttukbaegi not coming?", "The ttukbaegi went to another hospital," and "Get me the ttukbaegi patient's chart."

"Ttukbaegi" is a slang term referring to the "head." In the soccer world, players who are good at heading are sometimes said to have a "good ttukbaegi" or to "use their ttukbaegi well." Therefore, it can be inferred that the medical staff’s use of "ttukbaegi" referred to the emergency patient with a head injury.

A netizen identified as A, who was present at the scene, posted about the situation on an online community. A said, "The emergency room is literally for emergencies, and everyone is in a serious condition, yet the medical staff were chatting loudly, joking around, and referring to patients as 'ttukbaegi.' I don’t know if that’s normal." A added, "Both my husband, who received treatment, and I left the hospital feeling offended. I never want to receive care at such a hospital again," criticizing the hospital.

SMG Yonsei Hospital issued an apology for referring to a patient as "ttukbaegi." The apology has since been deleted.
[Photo by SMG Yonsei Hospital website archive]

The post quickly spread within the local community where the hospital is located. It is reported that the patient’s parents only learned of this incident belatedly. As the controversy grew, the hospital posted an apology on its website on the 8th and bowed their heads in apology.

Park Jae-gyun, director of the Happo Medical Foundation, said, "Through this incident, we deeply recognize that our hospital was lacking in staff education and internal management," and apologized, adding, "We will do our best to prevent recurrence." The specific measures announced by the hospital in response to the incident include ▲a thorough investigation and action against the involved staff ▲retraining of all employees ▲strengthening of ethical standards and guidelines within the hospital. The apology statement has since been removed.

Criticism from Doctors Internally as Well... "Inappropriate Language and Behavior"

Photo by Jo Yongjun, Asia Economy

As the incident became known, criticism has also risen among fellow doctors. On a community platform that requires medical license verification for membership, posts criticizing the language and behavior of SMG Yonsei Hospital’s medical staff have been posted one after another.

A verified doctor, netizen B, said, "Did they not think that the word 'ttukbaegi' would sound offensive to the patient?" and added, "That’s very thoughtless. Even if it is slang commonly used within the medical community, it should be used with consideration of the situation, and especially it should never be used in front of patients."

Netizen C commented, "In a situation where conflicts between the medical community and the government are intensifying, such language is inappropriate," and criticized, "I understand that the emergency room is busy. But a doctor's mission is to focus on patient recovery. If they referred to patients with inappropriate language like 'ttukbaegi,' they are not qualified to be doctors."

Meanwhile, on the 8th, Cho Kyu-hong, Minister of Health and Welfare, announced that administrative sanctions would not be imposed on residents who have not yet returned to work. Minister Cho explained the decision by saying, "It was made based on the judgment that minimizing the treatment gap for severe emergency patients and maintaining continuity in the training system to ensure specialists are produced on time aligns with the public interest."

Additionally, the government announced plans to support residents returning after resignation in September by conducting an additional specialist exam in the second half of the year, expanding recruitment to all specialties with vacancies, and applying special provisions allowing residents to apply for the same specialty and year even within one year of resignation, actively facilitating their return.

However, it remains uncertain whether the resigned residents will actively return. The residents are demanding a complete cancellation of the increase in medical school admissions and the administrative sanctions. Regarding the timing of resignation acceptance, residents argue it should be in February, while the government maintains that resignations can be processed from the 4th of last month after the withdrawal of the order, suggesting that the conflict between the medical community and the government is likely to continue for some time.