"Given Rotten Fruit and Tied to Beds for 24 Hours"... Nursing Home Operated by Yoon's Mother-in-law Faces Elder Abuse Allegations

Namyangju City and National Health Insurance Service Launch Investigation

A case of elder abuse has been reported at a nursing home in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, operated by the family of former President Yoon Sukyeol, prompting an investigation by the relevant authorities.

Snacks and tableware provided to residents at a nursing home in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, operated by the family of First Lady Kim Keonhee. Photo by MBC News

On April 29, MBC reported, "A public interest report was recently filed with the National Health Insurance Service and Namyangju City, alleging that a nursing home located in Hwado-eup, Namyangju, was providing inadequate meals to its residents."

This nursing home, established in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province in 2017, is operated by the family of Choi Eunsun, the mother of former First Lady Kim Keonhee. The director of the nursing home is Kim Jinwoo, Kim Keonhee's brother.

According to MBC, whistleblower A claimed that the nursing home used cheap ingredients to cut costs, yet still provided poor-quality and insufficient food, and that hygiene was severely lacking, with food residue left on spoons. A stated, "Residents pay a monthly meal fee of 375,000 won, but they are given spoiled fruit as snacks, and for 16 residents on one floor, only seven bananas were used to make juice, which was then diluted with water and yogurt and distributed among them."

The report also included an allegation that in December of last year, an elderly resident in their 80s suffered from diarrhea and bloody stools for more than ten days, was left unattended for nearly three weeks, and eventually died after being transferred to a hospital. There was also a claim that a resident capable of making decisions was restrained to a bed for 24 hours, with no records kept as required.

In a regular evaluation by the National Health Insurance Service in 2021, this nursing home received the lowest grade, "insufficient," in the "elderly human rights protection" category, which assesses abuse and physical restraint. In a 2019 inspection by Namyangju City, the facility was found to have misused food ingredient expenses and failed to properly record the use of physical restraints.

Namgyangju City and the National Health Insurance Service plan to decide on administrative measures such as suspension of operations or cancellation of designation, as well as whether to recover improperly paid nursing care benefits, after completing their on-site investigation.