Clinic Director in Cheongdam-dong Booked on Charges of Illegal Propofol Prescription

Suspected Violation of Narcotics Control Act
Denial, Death from Propofol Addiction

The police have launched an investigation into Dr. A, the head of a hospital, for prescribing narcotics such as propofol without properly recording the medication details in the medical records.

On the 5th, the Seongdong Police Station in Seoul announced that they have booked Dr. A, a doctor in his 50s, on charges of violating the Narcotics Control Act and the Medical Service Act, and are currently investigating.

Dr. A is suspected of prescribing and administering narcotics such as propofol hundreds of times to about 30 patients at his dermatology and plastic surgery clinic, which he operated, from February last year to April this year, without recording the medication details in the medical records.

According to the police investigation, the narcotics records registered in the integrated narcotics management system of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety did not match the medication records in Dr. A’s clinic medical records.

In addition, Dr. A is also suspected of changing the position of his wife’s body, who was found dead at their home last April. The autopsy confirmed that the cause of death was propofol overdose.

The police have also booked and are investigating two other clinic staff members on charges of prescribing narcotics to patients or falsifying medication records.

The police plan to send Dr. A and the other two suspects to the prosecution within this week.