Seven Ajou University Hospital pediatric emergency professors said to intend to resign

Seven professors at Ajou University Hospital's specialized pediatric emergency medical center are said to have expressed an intention to resign. They recently underwent a police search in connection with the death of a child patient.

People Power Party lawmaker Han Ji-a relayed the news at the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee's comprehensive parliamentary audit on the 27th, saying she had spoken for the first time with the head of the hospital's pediatric emergency center.

Han said seven professors had decided to resign after watching the parliamentary audit. She said she had urged them not to quit, but relayed that the professors had said their hands were trembling and they found it difficult to practice within the jurisdiction of the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency.

A four-month-old infant receiving treatment for cyanosis died at the center on July 15. The Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency searched examination rooms and other areas of the center on September 30 to investigate possible medical negligence, and has since disputed the appropriateness of the search with the medical community.

Ham Young-wook, head of the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency's metropolitan investigation unit, who directed the search, appeared as a witness at the parliamentary audit. Lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties questioned him.

Lawmakers from both sides demanded an apology, saying the search had interfered with medical staff providing care. Ham repeatedly expressed regret.

Ham said the team specializing in medical incident investigations had consulted hospital officials in advance. His position was that the search was limited to the minimum necessary and conducted in an unoccupied examination room with a hospital representative present.