Doctor's death cast light on working conditions at emergency centers
By Kim Hyun-bin
The sudden death of the head of the state emergency medical center shows the poor working conditions for medical staff, especially those in emergency medicine.
Yoon Han-deok
Yoon Han-deok, who was in charge of the National Emergency Medical Center, was found dead in his office, Monday, in the middle of the five day Lunar New Year holiday.
The emergency center under the National Medical Center (NMC) is in charge of overseeing emergency medical services at some 500 hospitals nationwide. As a control tower, it was the 51-year-old Yoon's job to inspect the emergency management and network of the institutions.
His family had lost contact with him since the previous weekend, but thought he was “busy as usual” because he often had to work for several nights in a row, especially during holidays when most hospitals close and patients have to use emergency centers.
His wife came to his office after he had been out of contact for longer than usual, and found him dead at his desk. Following an autopsy, the police said the cause of death was sudden cardiac arrest.
Yoon worked endlessly to bolster the quality of emergency medical services. He played a key role in setting up the nation's emergency medical system, helping establish medical evacuation helicopter ambulance services in 2011 and trauma centers across the country.
“The preliminary autopsy results stated sudden cardiac arrest but we are waiting for a more detailed evaluation. However, we believe he died from overwork,” the Korean Medical Association (KMA) said.
“It is sad that his family was not worried and did not contact him over the weekend thinking he was working. This shows how much Yoon cared, and devoted his life to treating patients,” Choi Dae-zip, president of the KMA, said.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, about 28,000 people visited emergency centers nationwide daily on last year's Lunar New Year holiday, double the number on usual days.
The poor working conditions do not apply only to emergency medical staff. According to the KMA, the average workload for a Korean doctor is the highest among OECD members ― there are over 17 outpatient visits per person on average in Korea, 2.3 times higher than the OECD average, 7.4.
“Most of the doctors have poor working conditions. In reality, they are on standby 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Choi said. “There needs to be a reasonable working environment to prevent unfortunate incidents such as this.”
A large number of people mourned Yoon's death, with not only people from the medical sector but also politicians and government officials paying their respects at a memorial altar.
President Moon Jae-in expressed his condolences in a Facebook post. “Even during the Lunar New Year holiday, protecting people's lives came before himself and his family. It hurts to see the camp bed in the corner of his office which lost its owner. I am sorry and I thank you. We will not forget your noble spirit.”
The NMC plans to request the health ministry to recognize Yoon as a man of national merit.
Yoon's funeral service will take place at the NMC at 9 a.m. Sunday.