Insurance Fraud Incident in Seoul Hospital

In October 2023, a serious incident of fraudulent insurance claims emerged from an orthopedic hospital in Gangnam, Seoul, involving the hospital director and approximately 300 patients. The police conducted a search of the director's office and seized medical records. The hospital director allegedly recommended expensive radiofrequency treatments while falsifying medical records to indicate that the treatments were eligible for insurance reimbursement. Patients involved reportedly received treatments costing around 600,000 KRW and then broke these into smaller claims, unjustly requesting a total of several hundred million KRW in insurance payouts. The police have also filed charges against 32 patients suspected of colluding in this insurance fraud scheme and plan to transfer the case to the prosecution soon. This situation is categorized as insurance fraud and a violation of medical laws, with potential imprisonment of up to 10 years if the charges are confirmed. The incident is considered highly serious as it undermines the trust in the medical profession, prompting a robust response from law enforcement to address such fraudulent activities effectively.