Police Offer Private Apology Over "Putting Wrongdoer in Front of Camera"

While police put wrongdoers in front of the camera, the police themselves conducted their own apology behind closed doors.

According to police and the medical community on the 29th, Criminal Division Chief Jung Sang-jin of the National Police Agency and Acting Chief Kim Hong-geun of the Gyeonggi Southern Police Agency visited Ajou University Hospital that afternoon and held a closed-door meeting for approximately 40 minutes with Hospital Director Cho Jae-ho and Pediatric Emergency Medical Center Director Lee Ji-sook, among others.

Police reportedly conveyed an apology, saying "we're sorry" at this meeting. However, the police did not disclose the contents of the meeting.

This stance differs markedly from their position at the National Assembly just two days prior. On the 27th during a parliamentary audit of the Health and Welfare Committee, Jung Young-uk, chief of the Gyeonggi Southern Police Agency's Regional Investigation Unit, repeatedly answered "we regret" to repeated apology demands from both ruling and opposition lawmakers.

Subsequently, seven of nine specialists at Ajou University Hospital's Pediatric Emergency Medical Center expressed their intention to resign, spreading concerns about a pediatric emergency medical vacuum in southern Gyeonggi Province.

While police reportedly stated "we're sorry" at the meeting, it remains unclear what the apology was for. It has also not been confirmed whether the police's previously maintained stance of "lawful warrant execution" has changed.

A medical community official said, "While putting suspects' apologies or explanations in front of the camera, the police made their own accountability explanation and clarification session 'closed-door.' Though the legal character of the subject and situation differs, we believe this represents a double standard by police, given that this is a matter for which public accountability explanation was demanded."

A police official said, "It was arranged to broadly hear the hospital's position and difficulties at the site."

Meanwhile, the Korean Academy of Pediatric Emergency Medicine announced an emergency press conference for the 30th. While police offered an apology, it remains unclear whether medical staff will withdraw their resignation intentions.