Staffer involved in patient's death at TV personality Yang Jae-woong's hospital partially denies charges

At the first trial hearing on the death of a patient, who had been physically restrained at a hospital run by psychiatrist and TV personality Yang Jae-woong, the medical staffer responsible for the patient at the time partially denied the charges.

Psychiatrist and TV personality Yang Jae-woong appears as a witness at a comprehensive audit of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and related agencies held by the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Oct. 23, 2024, as he answers lawmakers’ questions about a patient death at a hospital he runs. [NEWS1]

At the first trial hearing on the death of a patient — who had been physically restrained at a hospital run by psychiatrist and TV personality Yang Jae-woong — at Incheon District Court on Monday, the medical staffer responsible for the patient at the time partially denied the charges.

According to the defense counsel for a nurse at a hospital in Bucheon, Gyeonggi, who was indicted without detention on charges including professional negligence resulting in death and violation of the Medical Service Act, the defendant “admits to the Medical Service Act violation but denies the charges of professional negligence resulting in death and unlawful confinement.”

Another nurse and two nursing assistants indicted on the same charges also stated that they acknowledge only the violation of the Medical Service Act.

The defense attorney for the attending physician, however, said that the prosecution’s evidence had not yet been fully reviewed, and that detailed arguments would be presented at the next hearing.

The victim's mother told the court this was “not a simple case of medical negligence but of abandonment and neglect,” urging the court not to ignore her daughter's “unjust death” and to impose a severe punishment on those responsible.

The patient came to the hospital on May 27, 2024, due to abdominal pain. According to the prosecution, the medical staff failed to properly monitor the side effects of the antipsychotic drugs administered to the patient and confined her in a stabilization room, restraining her hands and feet or leaving her unattended despite her being in pain.

The patient, who had been hospitalized for treatment for diet pill addiction, died after 17 days from acute intestinal pseudo-obstruction.

Bucheon City’s public health center sent a prior notice to the hospital on Dec. 8, informing the facility that it would receive a three-month operations suspension after the center uncovered unlicensed medical practices and other violations of the Medical Service Act.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom. BY JANG GU-SEUL [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]