Police summon author of 'Data Deletion Before Resident Doctor Resignation'... Search and Seizure of DC Inside for Posting 'Blacklist Distribution Document'

The police summoned the original author who posted a message instructing to delete hospital data before the collective resignation of residents. They also launched a compulsory investigation to verify the facts regarding a document bearing the seal of the Korean Medical Association (KMA) that was posted on an internet community.

Chief Jo Ji-ho, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. [Photo by Yonhap News]

At a regular press briefing on the 11th, Jo Ji-ho, Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, stated, "We summoned the author last Saturday (the 9th)" and added, "He generally testified that he did write the post."

The police began an investigation after a post appeared on 'MediStaff,' a community used by doctors and medical students, on the 19th of last month, instructing residents to delete hospital data before resigning.

The post included content such as, "Delete the handover sheets from the desktop and the shared folders in the medical department, and change all the set orders in strange ways before leaving. Some hospitals can recover deleted data, so it's best to change things arbitrarily."

Additionally, the police conducted a search and seizure operation at the internet community DC Inside on the morning of the same day concerning a document posted online instructing the creation of a so-called 'blacklist' targeting residents who did not participate in the collective action organized by the KMA.

On the 7th, this community posted a document containing instructions to create a blacklist of residents who did not participate in the collective resignation, along with the seal of the KMA president.

On the 6th, when the police began the first summons investigation into the suspicions of collective resignation conspiracy among current and former executives of the Korean Medical Association (KMA), Joo Su-ho, the KMA Emergency Response Committee's Public Relations Committee Chairman, appeared at the Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Mapo-gu, Seoul, to state his position. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

The document stated that the purpose was "to pressure those who did not participate," and included details that the list's creation and distribution methods would be notified via specific social networking services (SNS). It also contained instructions to submit resignation letters to affiliated workplaces and to foster opposing public opinion, along with the KMA president's seal.

Regarding this, the KMA Emergency Response Committee stated, "The document is clearly false, and we have confirmed that the KMA president's seal used was forged," and filed a complaint with the police for forgery of private documents and spreading false information.

Commissioner Jo said, "Since the document requires fact verification, we plan to confirm it through a compulsory investigation."

The investigation into allegations of obstruction of business involving current and former KMA officials is also gaining momentum. The Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency previously summoned Joo Su-ho, the KMA Emergency Committee's Media and Public Relations Director, and Roh Hwan-gyu, former KMA president, and plans to summon Kim Taek-woo, KMA Emergency Committee Chairman, Park Myung-ha, Emergency Committee Organization Chairman, and Lim Hyun-taek, President of the Korean Pediatric Society, for questioning on the 12th.

However, since no individual complaints against residents have been filed yet, no separate investigations are underway. Commissioner Jo explained, "Basically, we are investigating KMA officials. If someone is not a subject of complaint, they are not on the investigation radar."