Psychiatrist Yang Jae-woong Interview with Hankyoreh
Direct Statement on Patient Death in May
"Compulsion Inevitable... The Core Issue Is Phentermine Addiction"
Entertainer and psychiatrist Dr. Yang Jae-woong spoke out following an incident in which a patient died at the hospital he operates. On the 19th, in an interview with Hankyoreh, Yang said, “A patient who was hospitalized for treatment passed away. It is a very tragic and regrettable matter. As the hospital director, I deeply feel responsible,” but also stated, “I do not believe that the medical staff intentionally neglected the patient.”
Earlier in May, a woman in her 30s, patient A, who visited a hospital in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, where Yang is the director, for treatment of diet pill poisoning, died 17 days after being admitted. On the evening before her death, around 7 p.m., A was isolated alone in a hospital stabilization room. Later, when A resisted, the medical staff applied restraint measures by tying her hands, feet, and chest to the bed for about two hours on the day she died. According to the autopsy by the National Forensic Service, the presumed cause of death was “acute pseudo-intestinal obstruction.”
In response, A’s family claimed that the hospital neglected A, leading to her death, and filed a complaint with the police against Yang and six other medical staff on charges of abandonment resulting in death and professional negligence causing death. They also disclosed A’s identity and appealed, “Please thoroughly investigate the medical malpractice caused by the hospital’s inappropriate drug prescriptions and management, and strictly punish the medical staff and hospital officials responsible for our daughter’s death.”
Regarding headlines in some media outlets describing the incident as a “patient death due to neglect,” Yang said, “The term ‘neglect’ seems to imply that the staff were lazy in caring for the patient despite knowing what they were supposed to do,” adding, “I do not think that is the case. That is a different matter from whether there was negligence or not.”
He explained, “The two instances of restraint were unavoidable due to the risk of self-harm or harm to others,” and “The nursing staff carefully cared for the patient right up until her death. The essential issue in this death is not the isolation or restraint but the risk of phentermine (Dietamin) poisoning. Other poisonings are also suspected.”
He continued, “Isolation and restraint are treatments intended to prevent greater risks, though they may carry some risks themselves. I acknowledge that they must be prescribed cautiously,” but emphasized, “It could be more dangerous to conclude that this death was caused by isolation and restraint. The more fundamental problem is the risk of phentermine and ephedrine, which are being indiscriminately prescribed as ‘diet pills.’ However, I deeply regret that the patient’s condition was not detected and addressed more promptly and sensitively.”
Yang also said that on the day of the patient’s death, the attending physician met with the family to personally explain the situation and apologize, stating, “The attending physician, the head nurse of the ward who is also the nursing team leader, and the head of administration met with the mother, who was the primary guardian, to express their apologies and condolences. I heard that the mother said ‘I understand’ and left. I was also informed that the attending physician conveyed condolences not only as the responsible doctor but also representing the hospital’s position.”
He added, “As the hospital director and as a human being, I once again sincerely express my deepest condolences for the loss of your daughter and sibling,” and “I sincerely apologize for failing to help her recover healthily and for her death. I hope there will be an opportunity to offer an apology without media exposure.”
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