By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
The family of a Korean diplomat who died in a hospital in Beijing in July, 2007, has lodged a protest with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade for its reluctance to negotiate with the hospital for compensation.
The bereaved sent a protest letter to Foreign Minister Song Min-soon late last month, urging the ministry to actively negotiate with the hospital over the late Whang Joung-il, then minister of the Korean Embassy in Beijing.
They said in the letter that the embassy should act as a negotiator for Whang because it has experience and information about his death.
The hospital had suggested $100,000 in compensation for the family via the embassy in September. But the family rejected the offer, which reportedly prompted the ministry to encourage the family to negotiate instead of relying on the embassy.
A ministry official explained in a recent document that the bereaved can file a lawsuit or directly negotiate with the hospital.
``The Korean Embassy in Beijing had played a middleman between the family and the hospital regarding Whang's death, but compensation should be negotiated between the family and the hospital,'' the ministry official said on condition of anonymity.
Whang died on July 29 while being treated for apparent food poisoning. An autopsy conducted in Korea concluded that myocardinal infarction was the reason for the death.
He suffered severe stomachache after eating a sandwich and died after being given an injection.
His death was a bone of contention between Seoul and Beijing as Korea questioned the hospital's negligence while China protected a doctor involved, saying Whang was responsible for his death as he chose an unqualified clinic.
Chinese government officials said that the clinic was not rated as a top-class medical facility.
In response, the Korean government said that the hospital was a well-advertised and expensive clinic frequented by many foreigners.
Beijing said there are two kinds of clinics in China: one is a state-run non-profit kind; the other is private-run. So it is difficult to maintain a watchful eye over the private clinics such as the clinic in question, which are foreign-operated.
The Chinese government added that expensive hospital bills do not guarantee quality medical services.
Seoul's response was that the advertisement, which describes the clinic as the best medical facility available, is completely incorrect, and the Chinese government is responsible for misleading advertising.