Ministry investigates hospital for late Itaewon response

Home > National > Politics

print dictionary print

Ministry investigates hospital for late Itaewon response

Democratic Party Rep. Shin Hyun-young in the early hours of Oct. 30 is at the scene of a crowd crush in Itaewon, central Seoul, that took 158 lives. [SHIN HYUN-YOUNG FACEBOOK]

Democratic Party Rep. Shin Hyun-young in the early hours of Oct. 30 is at the scene of a crowd crush in Itaewon, central Seoul, that took 158 lives. [SHIN HYUN-YOUNG FACEBOOK]

 
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Thursday it will look into allegations that Democratic Party lawmaker Shin Hyun-young delayed the emergency response medical team’s arrival at Itaewon on the night of the crowd crush on Oct. 29 that took the lives of 158 people.
 
Shin is accused of getting aboard the “doctor car” of Myongji Hospital’s Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT), causing the team to arrive at the site 20 minutes later than the estimated time.
 
The ministry will look into both Myongji Hospital and the National Medical Center, which may be involved in leaking the DMAT’s contact, through next Wednesday. The investigation period may be extended if needed.
 
“The late arrival of Myongji Hospital’s DMAT and how the teams’ emergency hotline was leaked will be investigated to see whether there was a violation of the Emergency Medical Service Act and the emergency response manual during disasters,” the ministry said.
 
Administrative punishment as well as cancelation of the medical facility's designation as a regional medical center may occur if the violation is confirmed.
 
The emergency team from Myongji Hospital was among the 15 Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs) from 14 hospitals dispatched to Itaewon, including those from Seoul National University Hospital and Hanyang University Hospital, on the night and early morning hours of Oct. 29 and Oct. 30.
 
The DMAT of Myongji Hospital, located in Goyang, Gyeonggi, 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) from Itaewon, was reported to have arrived at the scene around 1:45 a.m. Oct. 30, 54 minutes after the team departed from the hospital. The trip is supposed to take less than 30 minutes in the early morning hours.  
 
Ajou University Hospital in Suwon, Gyeonggi, is 36.3 kilometers away and Uijeongbu St. Mary’s Hospital in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi, is 35.3 kilometers away.
 
Yet these teams arrived after just 26 and 36 minutes.
 
The Myongji Hospital team was found to have made a detour to an apartment complex in Mapo District, western Seoul, where Shin lives. Shin’s husband, a dentist, was also reported to have been on board.
 
Shin refused to comment on where she boarded the vehicle but told the JoongAng Ilbo that she and her husband met up with the DMAT on their way to the tragedy to help as a doctor. Shin used to work as a doctor at Myongji Hospital.
 
According to a report from the Myongji Hospital emergency team obtained by the JoongAng Ilbo, the other emergency teams had already taken care of the people in critical condition by the time they arrived. 
 
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency summoned Shin for an investigation last month for the same allegation. 
 
Shin, who became a lawmaker in 2020 as a proportional representative of the DP, stepped down from her position as a member of the National Assembly’s special committee investigating the Itaewon tragedy in December as the controversy continued.

BY LEE CHANG-HOON, CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]
Log in to Twitter or Facebook account to connect
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
help-image Social comment?
s
lock icon

To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.

Standards Board Policy (0/250자)