By Jung Min-ho
Controversy has been growing over how much power a doctor could and should have following the death of the farmer hit by police water cannons last November during a labor demonstration in Seoul. A majority of doctors have opinions differing from that of the doctor who treated the man and filled out his death certificate.
A healthy man was hospitalized in a coma after being blasted by a police water cannon, and he died 10 months later in the hospital he was brought to.
Almost all the doctors say the man, farmer Baek Nam-ki, obviously died from the water cannon, except a very few who insist the activist died of cardiopulmonary arrest, or the cessation of heart activity.
But the opinion of the majority did not matter because the farmer's doctor, Paek Sun-ha, disagreed. In his death certificate, the doctor wrote that the cause of death was cardiopulmonary arrest.
The revelation of the conclusion immediately provoked controversy, which forced Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) to form a special committee to investigate the matter. Lee Yoon-seong, head of the committee, concluded that Baek died from an external factor (water cannon), but did not revise what was written on the death certificate, saying that his doctor's discretion should nonetheless be respected.
The Korean Medical Association, which created guidelines for the nation's death certificates, as well as many doctors, including the heads of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service and the National Health Insurance Service, said Paek's conclusion is wrong. But they could not change a single word on the document.
SNUH could revise Baek's death certificate because "respecting his discretion" is nothing but a custom, with no legal basis.
According to the related law, a doctor who directly treated the patient should write the death certificate. But there are no clauses stipulating that the doctor should escape responsibility for error, or that he or she can refuse calls for revision.
Jung Hyung-joon, policy director of the Physicians for Humanitarian Action, said giving such powerful discretion to doctors is bad for society. His pointed out that for an expert to have discretion, he or she should be able to back it up with evidence.
Many medical officials, including those from SNUH, say cardiopulmonary arrest cannot be the cause of death, saying it is just the final symptom for every patient on the point of death.
Medical law stipulates that the health minister can suspend a doctor's medical license for up to one year for making false statements on medical documents. Under criminal law, the doctor could face a prison sentence of up to three years. But it does not state who determines the falsity and how.
Rep. Jung Choun-sook of the Minjoo Party of Korea believes that Paek is responsible for the charge, given that the cause of Baek's death was written as "caused by an external factor" on many of his medical documents, except for on the death certificate.
Ahn Cheol-soo, a doctor-turned-lawmaker of the People's Party, also believes it is obvious that the patient died from the water cannon. "Any expert can be wrong. This is why sharing opinions with other experts in the same field is important," he said.
Many people suspect that Paek's conclusion is politically motivated and Suh Chang-suk, who served as a doctor to President Park Geun-hye before becoming the president of SNUH in May, is backing him up.
Controversy has been growing over how much power a doctor could and should have following the death of the farmer hit by police water cannons last November during a labor demonstration in Seoul. A majority of doctors have opinions differing from that of the doctor who treated the man and filled out his death certificate.
A healthy man was hospitalized in a coma after being blasted by a police water cannon, and he died 10 months later in the hospital he was brought to.
Almost all the doctors say the man, farmer Baek Nam-ki, obviously died from the water cannon, except a very few who insist the activist died of cardiopulmonary arrest, or the cessation of heart activity.
But the opinion of the majority did not matter because the farmer's doctor, Paek Sun-ha, disagreed. In his death certificate, the doctor wrote that the cause of death was cardiopulmonary arrest.
The revelation of the conclusion immediately provoked controversy, which forced Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) to form a special committee to investigate the matter. Lee Yoon-seong, head of the committee, concluded that Baek died from an external factor (water cannon), but did not revise what was written on the death certificate, saying that his doctor's discretion should nonetheless be respected.
The Korean Medical Association, which created guidelines for the nation's death certificates, as well as many doctors, including the heads of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service and the National Health Insurance Service, said Paek's conclusion is wrong. But they could not change a single word on the document.
SNUH could revise Baek's death certificate because "respecting his discretion" is nothing but a custom, with no legal basis.
According to the related law, a doctor who directly treated the patient should write the death certificate. But there are no clauses stipulating that the doctor should escape responsibility for error, or that he or she can refuse calls for revision.
Jung Hyung-joon, policy director of the Physicians for Humanitarian Action, said giving such powerful discretion to doctors is bad for society. His pointed out that for an expert to have discretion, he or she should be able to back it up with evidence.
Many medical officials, including those from SNUH, say cardiopulmonary arrest cannot be the cause of death, saying it is just the final symptom for every patient on the point of death.
Medical law stipulates that the health minister can suspend a doctor's medical license for up to one year for making false statements on medical documents. Under criminal law, the doctor could face a prison sentence of up to three years. But it does not state who determines the falsity and how.
Rep. Jung Choun-sook of the Minjoo Party of Korea believes that Paek is responsible for the charge, given that the cause of Baek's death was written as "caused by an external factor" on many of his medical documents, except for on the death certificate.
Ahn Cheol-soo, a doctor-turned-lawmaker of the People's Party, also believes it is obvious that the patient died from the water cannon. "Any expert can be wrong. This is why sharing opinions with other experts in the same field is important," he said.
Many people suspect that Paek's conclusion is politically motivated and Suh Chang-suk, who served as a doctor to President Park Geun-hye before becoming the president of SNUH in May, is backing him up.
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