[2025 Audit] "A Doctor Who Issued False Medical Certificates as a Review Committee Member?"... Controversy Over HIRA Appointment

Assemblywoman Kim Sunmin Raises Issue with Committee Member Park Byungwoo for Assisting Main Perpetrator of "Female College Student Contract Murder"
President Kang Junggu Criticized for Stating, "I Thought It Would Be Fine Since It Was an Old Case"

It has been revealed that a doctor who was previously convicted for issuing a false medical certificate to the main perpetrator of the so-called "female college student contract killing" case is currently serving as a medical review committee member at the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. In response, Kang Junggu, President of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, stated, "I thought it would be fine since it was an old case," which has sparked criticism.

Kang Junggu, President of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, is attending the 2025 National Assembly audit on the National Health Insurance Corporation and the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service held by the Health and Welfare Committee on October 17, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

At the National Assembly audit held by the Health and Welfare Committee on the 17th, Assemblywoman Kim Sunmin of the National Innovation Party raised the issue, saying, "It has been confirmed that Park Byungwoo, a former professor at Yonsei University who was convicted for issuing a false medical certificate to the main perpetrator of the so-called female college student contract killing case that occurred in 2002, is currently serving as a medical review committee member at the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. In 2017, Park was sentenced to a fine of 5 million won by the Supreme Court, and prior to that, in 2013, he was suspended from membership in the Korean Medical Association for three years."

The female college student contract killing case refers to an incident in which Yoon Gilja, the wife of former Youngnam Flour Mills Chairman Ryu Wonki, commissioned the murder of a female college student in her twenties. In 2004, Yoon was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Supreme Court, but she was able to obtain multiple stays of execution and live in a luxury hospital room in a private hospital instead of prison by using the false medical certificate issued by Park.

Park was prosecuted for issuing the false medical certificate in an attempt to secure a stay of execution for Yoon and was fined by the Supreme Court in 2017. In April of this year, he was appointed as a medical review committee member at the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, and he is an alumnus of Yonsei University College of Medicine along with President Kang.

President Kang stated, "At the time of Park's appointment, more than ten years had passed since the incident, and it did not constitute grounds for disqualification, so I judged that there would be no problem with his work performance. However, given the current social repercussions, I am deeply considering possible actions such as suspension or disciplinary measures."

When Assemblywoman Kim Sunmin further questioned whether President Kang had appointed Park despite knowing his history of issuing false medical certificates, Kang explained again, "The disqualification clause states that even if a sentence of imprisonment or higher is finalized, it is acceptable if more than five years have passed. I thought it would be fine since it was an old case."

Assemblywoman Baek Hyeryeon of the Democratic Party of Korea criticized, "Are you saying that as long as five years have passed and the qualifications are met, there is no problem? If someone like this is appointed to a public position reviewing whether medical fees have been properly claimed, the public will be outraged."

Park Joomin, Chairman of the Health and Welfare Committee and a member of the Democratic Party, also stated, "Park was not only convicted for issuing a false medical certificate but also for breach of trust and bribery, and he was separately suspended from practicing medicine for three years by the Ethics Committee of the Korean Medical Association. Are you saying there was no problem with his appointment? Either Park should resign or President Kang should step down; one of the two must do so."