Strict Punishment Demanded for Taxi Driver Who Blocked Ambulance
Deep Distrust of Private Ambulances: "Thought No One Was Inside"
Ambulance Company Requests Cooperation, Saying "Emergency Patients Also Frequently Use Them"
A black box video attached by the petitioner who posted on the Blue House National Petition Board on the 3rd. The petitioner claimed that the taxi driver insisted on handling the accident and blocked the ambulance, arguing for 10 minutes. / Photo by YouTube video capture
[Asia Economy reporters Seunggon Han and intern Juhyung Lim] Amid public outrage over an incident where a taxi driver blocked a private ambulance carrying an emergency patient, concerns are rising that such incidents could recur due to drivers' distrust of private ambulances. A representative from a private ambulance company urged citizens to cooperate, noting that emergency patients often use private ambulances.
On the 3rd, a petition titled "Punish the taxi driver who blocked an ambulance carrying an emergency patient" was posted on the Blue House's public petition board, sparking controversy.
According to the post, the incident occurred around 3:15 p.m. on the 8th of last month on a road near Godeok Station on Seoul Subway Line 5 in Gangdong-gu, Seoul. At the time, the petitioner was riding in an ambulance with his 80-year-old mother, who was in stage 4 lung cancer, on the way to the hospital when the ambulance had a minor collision with a taxi while changing lanes.
The ambulance driver said, "There is an emergency patient in the back, so let's get to the hospital first," but the taxi driver responded rudely, saying, "Handling the accident comes first. If the patient dies, I will take responsibility," and blocked the ambulance.
The standoff between the ambulance and the taxi lasted for 10 minutes, and eventually, the petitioner's mother was transferred to another ambulance that arrived after a 119 emergency call and was taken to a university hospital. However, she never regained consciousness and passed away around 9 p.m. that day, five hours after being admitted to the emergency room.
The petitioner expressed, "I am waiting for police punishment, but since the charge is only obstruction of business, it seems the taxi driver will receive a light punishment and be released," adding, "Thinking about that really breaks my heart." As of 7 a.m. on the 6th, this petition has received over 540,000 endorsements, stirring public outrage.
Private ambulance. The photo is not related to any specific expression in the article. / Photo by Yonhap News
This is not the first case where obstructing a private ambulance endangered a patient's life. On January 17, 2015, in Namdong-gu, Incheon, a private ambulance carrying a 3-year-old child with cerebral palsy collided with a passenger car. Despite the ambulance driver pleading the urgency of the situation, the passenger car driver delayed the ambulance's departure by about 10 minutes by filming the scene with a smartphone and demanding accident processing.
The root cause of such problems is pointed out to be citizens' distrust of private ambulances. The wife of the passenger car driver in the Incheon incident told SBS in an interview, "I wasn't sure if there was really a person inside the car," adding, "If I had understood the situation properly, I would have let them pass immediately without even a 3-minute delay."
In the Gangdong ambulance incident, the passenger car driver also expressed distrust toward the private ambulance, saying, "There was no emergency patient, so they deliberately turned on the siren to go faster," and "Is there really an emergency patient?"
The issue of so-called "fake ambulances" that sound sirens without carrying emergency patients has been raised continuously. In 2018, a private ambulance company in Ulsan was booked on charges of operating ambulances six times to transport celebrities to local events or airports, sparking controversy.
Amid growing controversy, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung announced in October of the same year that a full investigation of 15 private ambulance companies in Gyeonggi Province found nine companies violating the Emergency Medical Service Act. At the time, Governor Lee said, "Because there are occasional fake ambulances, people don't yield the road. We need to break this distrust," adding, "Is it right to exploit rules that people must follow to save lives just to make a quick buck?"
Ambulance in front of the emergency room. The photo is not related to any specific expression in the article. / Photo by Yonhap News
Given the situation, public opinions toward private ambulances are divided.
A 29-year-old office worker A said, "Even regular emergency vehicles are ambulances, so I don't understand why there is discrimination," expressing frustration, "There should be no distinction when it comes to saving lives."
Office worker B (31), who commutes by car in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, said, "It's true that private ambulances are less trusted than 119 ambulances," adding, "I think it's right to always yield when an ambulance sounds its siren, but companies should also make efforts to gain citizens' trust."
Another office worker C (28) said, "I once called a private ambulance to take a family member to the emergency room when they suddenly fell ill," adding, "Private ambulances are something we might all rely on at least once in our lives, so I think they should be respected."
Meanwhile, a representative of a private ambulance company in Seoul told Asia Economy on the 6th, "In reality, many incidents like this happen while operating private ambulances," adding, "There are many cases where people doubt whether we are really transporting patients, and sometimes they ignore or insult the vehicles."
He continued, "It's somewhat better when the patient is not urgent, but the problem is that private ambulance companies also frequently transport emergency patients," appealing for citizens' cooperation.
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