Stabbed opposition leader hit by favoritism allegations

Police officers on Thursday stand guard outside Seoul National University Hospital, where main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung has been admitted. (Yonhap)

Liberal politician Lee Jae-myung is facing accusations of favoritism over his treatment after he was stabbed in the neck Tuesday in Busan, with the focal point being why he was transferred to Seoul for an emergency operation.

Lee, the 60-year-old leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, was stabbed in the neck by a 67-year-old man who initially posed as a supporter. Lee is currently recovering at Seoul National University Hospital.

The medical staff of Pusan National University Hospital -- where Lee received medical treatment just after the attack -- and Seoul National University Hospital -- where Lee's surgery took place -- have expressed opposing views as to why Lee was transferred to Seoul.

A briefing by a surgeon at the Seoul hospital on Thursday claimed it was the Busan hospital's medical staff who had requested the transfer. "We received the request from PNUH and checked if we could operate, booked the ICU (intensive care unit) and the operation room, and conducted the operation," said Min Seung-ki, a blood vessel transplant professor.

Min also denied claims that the hospital does not have a trauma center, noting that the SNUH Trauma Center has been in operation since 2021.

But doctors in Busan claimed differently.

Kim Jae-hun, a surgeon at the Busan hospital who had treated Lee after the attack, told local media on Friday that he opposed transferring Lee to Seoul. He had been slated to perform the operation if it were to take place at his hospital.

"If the transfer to Seoul took a long time, Lee's status may have changed abruptly and a massive blood loss could lead to an emergency situation. ... PNUH regularly treats those patients, and we would have had no problem operating on Lee," said Kim, a professor in the department of trauma and surgical critical care. He added that most of the medical staff had voiced opposition to Lee's transfer.

Neither hospitals have released an official statement on the matter.

Lee's transfer after the attack sparked complaints from doctors in Busan, who said that the opposition bigwig being treated in Seoul was insulting to medical workers outside of Seoul.

"Those in the medical circles here cannot but lament the double standards and sense of privilege that the Democratic Party leadership has shown after the emergency treatment at PNUH," the Busan Medical Association said Thursday in a statement.

"The patient (Lee) was in grave condition, and should have, of course, been operated on at PNUH, which is an upper-level general hospital in the region. If not, he should have been transferred to a nearby general hospital by road, not by helicopter," it said, claiming that use of an emergency helicopter to go to a preferred hospital constituted an act of favoritism.

Lee's aide Kim Ji-ho wrote on his Facebook page on Friday that the transfer was undertaken so that Lee's family could help him. "I asked PNUH if it would be possible for (Lee) to be treated near Seoul, where he lived and could receive emotional support of his family," Kim wrote. "As an aide, I'd like to ask if it is unethical for me to make a request so that the patient could be taken care of by his family."

Kim stressed that the transfer decision was made by the Busan hospital, and that they would have complied if the medical staff said the situation required immediate surgery in Busan.

By Yoon Min-sik(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)