Evidence of SNS Post Sharing Emerges
Investigation Launched into Direct Abuse Allegations
A nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Daegu Catholic University Hospital posted content on her social networking service (SNS) that appeared to show abuse of newborn patients, leading to a police investigation. It has also been confirmed that some fellow nurses shared the problematic posts on their own SNS accounts. On the 8th, Daegu Catholic University Hospital announced that it has identified two additional nurses suspected of abusing patients in the NICU and is currently investigating them.
Kim Yoon-young, director of Daegu Catholic University Hospital, apologized in a video posted on the hospital's official YouTube channel on the 5th, stating, "All hospital members deeply feel a strong sense of responsibility." YouTube
The hospital stated that Nurse A, who works in the NICU, posted messages on SNS such as "I feel like falling," "Why the doctrine of original sin is true," and "I feel like having intermittent explosive disorder," which were then shared by another nurse. The hospital is investigating whether these two nurses directly abused the newborns.
Nurse A is accused of posting photos on her SNS account showing critically ill patients sitting on her lap or being hugged, accompanied by derogatory remarks. She reportedly wrote phrases like "Really nasty temper" about a patient who could not yet breathe independently, and posted a photo of a newborn’s arms wrapped with the caption, "Since they’re screaming, I guess they can be discharged tomorrow. Why did they come? Got angry right away and restrained them."
Patient parent B, upon learning of this, filed a complaint with the police against Nurse A and Kim Yoon-young, the director of Daegu Catholic University Hospital, on charges of child abuse. The police have begun an investigation, including seizing Nurse A’s home and mobile phone. It appeared as if the nurse was caring for the fragile patients with the thought that she could drop and injure them at any time. Patient father B filed the complaint against Nurse A and Director Kim with the police.
The Daegu Police Agency conducted a search and seizure of Nurse A’s home and mobile phone on suspicion of abusing a newborn (violation of the Child Welfare Act) and is investigating whether others were involved in the abuse. On the 5th, Director Kim apologized through a video posted on the hospital’s official YouTube channel, stating, "All members of the hospital deeply feel responsible."
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