More details on Shin’s death arise

Police officers investigating the unexpected death of singer Shin Hae-chul on Oct. 27 revealed on Saturday that a centimeter-long hole was found in his intestine when he was transported to the hospital five days before he passed away.

In doctors’ notes provided by Asan Medical Center on Friday, where the 46-year-old was treated in the intensive care unit after suffering from a heart attack on Oct. 22, doctors stated that a hole was found in Shin’s small intestines and that food scraps had leaked through it, which had caused an infection.

In response to the new information, the police spent approximately two hours at Seoul Sky Hospital on Saturday, collecting Shin’s medical records that dated back five years ago when he underwent gastric bypass surgery.

Gastric bypass surgery is an extreme surgical procedure designed to combat obesity and induce weight loss.

Officers from Songpa District Police Precinct also stated on Saturday that doctors from Seoul Sky Hospital will soon be summoned for questioning.

The police’s primary focus is to discover precisely how the intestinal perforation developed and when, authorities said.

Yonhap News Agency cited an anonymous doctor from an obesity clinic who explained that tears in the intestines can incur from gastric bypass surgery, adding that a side effect of this kind would be “a clear medical accident.”

Song Gyo-yeong, a gastrointestinal surgeon at St. Mary’s Hospital who was also interviewed by Yonhap, said that a hole in the intestines has to be “treated immediately” because it can lead to blood poisoning.

Shin’s agency, KCA Entertainment, stated yesterday that the singer’s body will be transferred to the National Forensic Service today for an autopsy.

The procedure, which will begin around noon, will be open for observation only by Shin’s bereaved family members - his wife and two children. Whether specialists can attend is currently under negotiation, the agency added.

Earlier plans to cremate Shin at Seoul Memorial Park on Saturday were scrapped last minute after a group of musicians announced during a press conference at the site that Shin’s family had been persuaded into approving an autopsy on the singer.

Shin’s wife, Yun Won-hee, filed a complaint against Seoul Sky Hospital at Songpa District Police Precinct on Friday afternoon, requesting an investigation for possible professional negligence resulting in death.

Asan Medical Center earlier announced that the direct cause of Shin’s death was cerebral hypoxia, a condition that restricts oxygen from reaching the brain.

But speculation has surfaced that the real reason dates back to Oct. 17 when the singer received abdominal surgery for an adhesion of the small and large intestines at Seoul Sky Hospital - the same place he had gastric bypass surgery five years ago.

Yun recently told local media that part of the Oct. 17 surgery was conducted without the permission of herself or Shin, hinting that an additional procedure where the top of Shin’s stomach was folded to reduce its capacity could be what caused her husband’s unexpected death.

Yun also said that Shin complained of frequent stomach pain after the surgery but that Seoul Sky Hospital had assured them that everything was fine.

BY LEE SUNG-EUN, SUNG SO-YOUNG [selee@joongang.co.kr]