Clinic under fire for party at operation

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Clinic under fire for party at operation

Health authority has launched investigation into a plastic surgery clinic in southern Seoul after its nurse assistant uploaded photos online on Sunday that allegedly show employees including a doctor throwing a birthday party in the middle of an operation.

Officials from the Gangnam Community Health Center visited the clinic on Monday for an investigation after the Instagram photos have drawn public backlash.

The community health center will request the Ministry of Health and Welfare to suspend the medical licenses of the involved parties based on its probe.

In one photo, a nurse is seen holding up a cake toward a surgeon, who is standing near the feet of a patient lying in bed. Other images show nurses eating hamburgers in the operating room and joking around with silicone breast implants.

Korean medical laws stipulate that those “who damage the dignity of the medical profession through immoral conduct can have his or her license suspended up to year at maximum.”

The police on Tuesday said they will open a separate probe if a victim or health authorities file a request.

The clinic posted an apology on its home page on Monday, but the site was shut down the following day.

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




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