Doctors' comment on farmer fuels row
A family member of the deceased farmer Baek Nam-ki, center, and the family’s legal representative Lee Jung-il, left, enter Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) Tuesday, to request the hospital revise Baek’s death certificate. The death certificate said the cause of Baek’s death was cardiopulmonary failure following 10 months in a coma after suffering a subdural hemorrhage, not an external factor. Baek was knocked over by a police water cannon in a demonstration last year and was immediately hospitalized. / Yonhap
By Kim Bo-eun
A press briefing by Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) over the death certificate of the deceased farmer Baek Nam-ki, who died 10 months after being knocked down by a police water cannon, is fueling a conflict.
A committee at the hospital said Monday that the certificate that categorized Baek’s death as cardiopulmonary arrest caused by illness — not extrinsic trauma — was accurate.
But even some committee members disagreed on the cause of death, saying they believe it was from trauma.
Bereaved family members said they will call for the hospital to revise the death certificate.
“All of the members of the committee said there was a problem with the cause of death on the certificate but only Baek’s doctor has insisted that illness was the cause and is refusing to revise the certificate,” said Son Yeong-joon, head of a civic committee representing Baek’s family, at a press conference, Tuesday.
The family members are firmly opposed to an autopsy, which police have been pushing for to clarify the cause of Baek’s death.
The hospital is suspected of attributing Baek’s death to illness to enable the government to evade responsibility over it. In addition, pronouncing an external factor as the cause of death would require doctors to determine whether the death was suicide, homicide or accidental.
If the death is determined to be homicide, investigations must be opened to find and punish the person responsible.
Baek was knocked unconscious by the police water cannon during a rally last November. Police were found to have set the pressure of the water cannon higher than the guidelines stated, and video footage shows they continued to spray Baek even after he fell.
Opposition and ruling party lawmakers have shown contrasting stances on the issue.
“If a person got into a car accident and died in the hospital months later, could it be considered death from illness?” asked Rep. Park Jie-won of the minor opposition People’s Party. “It is a clear error by SNUH to attribute the cause of Baek’s death to illness.”
Rep. Park Joo-min of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) also referred to a recent court ruling on a similar case.
A man who broke into a home and attempted theft was beaten by the homeowner and fell unconscious in 2014 in Wonju, Gangwon Province. He spent nine months in the hospital and died after developing pneumonia. The court did not recognize the illness as the cause of the man’s death.
The three opposition parties are set to submit a bill calling for an independent investigation of the incident conducted by a special counsel.
However, the ruling Saenuri Party maintained its stance that an independent investigation was unnecessary, saying moves to push for it were purely political.
“This issue should not be rashly dealt with by politicians, who are not experts in the field, as an issue of political strife, but should be put entirely in the hands of medical experts and the National Forensic Service,” Saenuri Party floor leader Rep. Chung Jin-suk said in a council meeting at the National Assembly.
“A public hearing on the issue was hosted at the National Assembly and the hospital committee said there was no influence from outside when the doctor reached the conclusion.”