Japanese woman found dead after plastic surgery

By Kim Se-jeong

A Japanese woman was found dead in her hotel room days after receiving plastic surgery in southern Seoul.

Police are investigating whether the death was the result of medical malpractice.

According to the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul, the woman arrived in Korea on Nov. 19 and had surgery on her nose and facial contours on Nov. 21. She visited the clinic on Nov. 23 for additional treatment, but fell out of contact afterward.

On Nov. 25, she was found dead in her room by a staffer of an agency that connected her with the hospital.

Police said they had found antidepressants and sleeping pills in her room.

“It’s too early to talk about the cause of her death. We suspect that she died due to either an embolism or drug overdose. We are waiting for the autopsy results,” a police officer said.

He said they would start investigating the medical staff at the clinic if the autopsy shows medical malpractice could be the cause of her death.

The woman’s father who flew to Korea told police that she had quit her job earlier this year and had been suffering from depression since then.