Doctor denies accusations over protester's death certificate

By Kim Hyo-jin

Paek Sun-ha

A doctor from Seoul National University Hospital denied allegations that there was political pressure in determining the cause of death for Baek Nam-ki.

Baek, a farmer, died last month after being in a coma for 10 months following being knocked down by a police water cannon.

Dr. Paek Sun-ha, who treated Baek during his entire time in hospital, has been embroiled in a controversy after he categorized the death as from cardiopulmonary failure caused by illness, not an external factor, on a death certificate.

“I took responsibility for this myself and there was no external pressure,” Paek testified during an audit by the National Assembly Education, Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee.

He also remained firm regarding his judgment on Baek’s death, saying he has no intention of changing it.

President and CEO of the hospital, Suh Chang-suk, standing as a witness at the audit following Dr. Paek, said that Paek’s treatment and writing of the death certificate followed hospital policy.

Suh also refused to change the decision, noting “only the doctor who attended the patient has the right to do so.”

The farmer’s bereaved family and their supporters have demanded that the hospital revise the death certificate, stressing that there should be no doubt about the cause of death.

In response, the hospital formed a special committee to investigate the case and concluded that Dr. Paek’s call was accurate. But some committee members took exception, saying they believes it was from extrinsic trauma.

Amid deepening controversy, the Korea Medical Association submitted a letter of opinion to the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee, last Wednesday, saying that SNUH violated guidelines from the World Health Organization. It stated that the cause of death must be determined by the preceding cause, not by the condition that the patient shows shortly before being pronounced dead.

Dr. Paek argued the farmer’s case was “exceptional,” arguing that a complication caused by a subdural hemorrhage became the direct cause of death as Baek’s family refused to allow proper treatment.

“If he had died after getting necessary treatment, I would have written the cause as extrinsic trauma,” he said during the session. “I don’t think anyone knows better than I since I was with him for his entire course of treatment at the hospital.”

Opposition parties are pushing for an independent counsel to investigate the controversy. However, the ruling Saenuri Party is arguing that an autopsy should be conducted first to clarify the cause of death, something the family members firmly oppose.