Human Rights Commission Files Complaint Against Bangudae Hospital Director in Ulsan Over Inpatient Death

Five Deaths in Five Years, Including Two From Patient-on-Patient Assaults

"Violation of Hospital's Duty of Care... Oversight Must Be Strengthened"

The National Human Rights Commission has filed a complaint with the prosecution against the hospital director and others in connection with the death of an inpatient due to an assault at a psychiatric institution.

Sookjin Lee, Standing Commissioner of the Disability Discrimination Remedy Committee at the National Human Rights Commission, is briefing the results of the investigation into the assault and death of a patient hospitalized in a psychiatric medical institution at the National Human Rights Commission briefing room in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 14th. Photo by Yonhap News

On April 14, the Human Rights Commission announced that it had reported the director and the administrative director of Bangudae Hospital in Ulju-gun, Ulsan, to the prosecution on charges of involuntary manslaughter due to professional negligence. According to the Commission's ex officio investigation, five inpatients have died at this hospital over the past five years, which was deemed a violation of the duty of care. In addition, the Commission recommended that health authorities revise guidelines to minimize isolation and restraint, and strengthen oversight.

According to the Human Rights Commission, five inpatients died at Bangudae Hospital between 2021 and last year; among these cases, two patients died as a result of assaults committed by fellow patients in 2022 and 2024, respectively. CCTV footage from the 2022 incident showed that more than 10 assaults occurred over a six-hour period, but there was no intervention by medical staff. During nighttime hours, there were no medical personnel present in the ward at all.

There were also suspicions that the causes of death were downplayed or concealed. In one case, an external hospital had determined the death to be due to "traumatic brain hemorrhage," but the hospital in question reported it as a simple illness and failed to even report it as a patient safety incident.

Additionally, Bangudae Hospital effectively kept a patient with an intellectual disability continuously isolated in a protective room for about four months. Excluding temporary releases for medical examinations, the total isolation time exceeded 2,282 hours. The Human Rights Commission pointed out that this constitutes inhumane treatment beyond therapeutic purposes.

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