The director of Ajou University Hospital’s pediatric emergency medical center has submitted her resignation after a disputed police search of the unit, extending a staffing crisis that had already prompted seven specialists at the center to express their intention to leave. Lee Ji-sook said at an emergency press conference on October 30 that she delivered her resignation letter to the hospital president on October 29.
Senior police officials visited the hospital and apologized for the search, Lee said. They acknowledged an insufficient understanding of emergency medical settings and apologized for the psychological shock experienced by medical staff. However, Lee said the officials did not provide a convincing explanation for why the warrant was requested and executed without advance notice.
The private meeting lasted about 40 minutes and included National Police Agency criminal investigation chief Jung Sang-jin, acting Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police chief Kim Hong-geun, the hospital president and the center director. A Health and Welfare Ministry official also attended, according to the reports.
Medical groups seek limits on searches of treatment areas
The Korean Society of Pediatric Emergency Medicine and the Council of Pediatric Emergency Medical Centers used the press conference to demand tighter restrictions on searches of essential medical facilities. They said searches of emergency rooms, intensive care units and delivery rooms should be limited in principle. When compulsory investigation is unavoidable, they called for prior consultation with the medical institution and mandatory consideration of a medical expert’s opinion during judicial review of the warrant.
The medical groups said they would cooperate with investigations but objected to investigators entering treatment spaces directly. They warned that such searches could unsettle medical workers, patients and guardians and could encourage defensive medical practice. The available reports do not specify how many patients were present during the search or document any interruption of treatment.
Lee also addressed the seven specialists who had expressed an intention to resign. She said their decisions were not a coordinated action organized around a shared objective, but individual choices based on personal circumstances and employment decisions. Her own resignation adds the center’s director to that group of departing or potentially departing physicians, but the evidence does not establish whether any resignations have been accepted or when departures might take effect.