Posted Notice of Treatment Suspension After Collecting Prepaid Fees
Announced Closure but Cut Off All Contact... Scope of Damage Expanding
A dental clinic located in Sejong City has ceased operations and announced its closure without refunding prepaid treatment fees ranging from several million to tens of millions of won, fueling anger among affected patients. Instead of issuing refunds, the clinic has effectively disappeared, leaving only the contact information of a law firm, prompting victims to consider filing a collective lawsuit.
Notice of Suspension of Medical Services Posted on the Door of a Dental Clinic in Sejong City. Photo by Yonhap News
According to Sejong Southern Police Station on the 26th, the police have received 12 complaints against the clinic on charges of fraud and embezzlement and are currently verifying the facts. Victims claim that the clinic first informed patients of treatment delays, citing the director’s personal circumstances, and then suddenly posted a notice of suspension of medical services on the 25th.
The notice states, "If you have prepaid for treatment and your treatment has not yet been completed, please contact the number below for information regarding compensation and the next steps." The contact information listed is for a specific law firm. Customers who visited the clinic after hearing the news expressed strong dissatisfaction, saying that the clinic gave the impression it would continue normal operations without providing prior notice of closure.
Ji, a 54-year-old patient who had completed tooth extraction in preparation for an implant procedure, told Yonhap News, "The director said treatment would be delayed temporarily due to a car accident, so I accepted it, but then I was suddenly notified that the clinic was about to close." Ji continued, "When I went to inquire, there was only a notice to contact the law firm, and no proper response was provided." Some customers also claimed that, during the process of voicing their complaints, the clinic reported them to the police for causing a disturbance.
At least 40 victims have been identified so far, with individual prepaid amounts ranging from 2 million to as much as 30 million won. Since there are patients who have not yet filed complaints, the scale of the damage is expected to grow further. Dozens of customers who learned of the closure belatedly visited the clinic again on the 26th, only to find it firmly shut.
An official from the Sejong City Public Health Center stated, "We have only heard that the director is hospitalized and the clinic is temporarily closed, but no closure application has been submitted. We plan to determine whether there has been a violation of the Medical Service Act, but we have not yet been able to contact the clinic."
The police plan to launch a full-scale investigation soon.
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