Operating for one year without an official director... Treatment hours are also reduced due to a shortage of medical staff.
Director appointment process in progress... Myung-ok Seo, today's National Assembly audit questioned personnel appropriateness
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Ji-eun Han = It was confirmed that the director of the police hospital, who was dismissed from his position for drunk driving last year, was dismissed in June this year.
The police hospital, which experienced personnel controversies such as the replacement of the acting manager with a history of drunk driving, has been operating without an official head for a year.
According to data received from the National Police Agency by People Power Party lawmaker Seo Seong-ok, a member of the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee, on the 12th, Mr. A, the former director of the National Police Hospital, was dismissed on June 29 in accordance with the resolution of the Central Disciplinary Committee.
The official term of Mr. A, a senior public official appointed in March 2023, was until December 31 of this year.
However, he was dismissed from his position on October 10 of the same year after it was revealed that he had crashed into another vehicle and left the scene while driving drunk in Seocho-gu, Seoul during the Chuseok holiday last year.
The problem was repeated in the process of appointing a successor.
In order to minimize the director's vacuum, the National Police Agency designated Mr. B, the senior director of the first medical department, as the acting director on the day that Mr. A was relieved of his position.
However, Mr. B also had a history of being caught for drunk driving in August 2024 and receiving a 3-month suspension.
Even though the National Police Agency was aware of this, it was reported that they delegated the duties to him, taking into account the fact that he had already been disciplined.
As criticism grew that a person with a history of drunk driving was taking the place of the director who was dismissed for drunk driving, the National Police Agency lifted Mr. B's designation as acting director on December 12 last year and designated the second director of the medical department as the new acting director.
Even after this, Mr. A's disciplinary process was not completed, and the director's position remained vacant for a long time.
The National Police Agency announced that it had published a recruitment notice in the office of Rep. Seo Myeong-ok on August 3, following his dismissal, and that it was proceeding with the process of selecting candidates for appointment under the supervision of the Ministry of Personnel Management.
The interview is scheduled for the middle of this month.
As the leadership vacuum continues to prolong, medical manpower shortages and medical treatment are being reduced.
As of the end of August, the police hospital had a capacity of 678 people and an active capacity of 626, with 52 vacancies.
There were a shortage of 9 specialists out of 75, and 7 nurses and 24 nursing assistants also remained vacant.
Due to a shortage of specialists, treatment, procedure, and examination time at each department was reduced by a total of 69 hours per week this year.
Rep. Seo plans to inquire about the appropriateness and verification of personnel designation of a person with a history of drunk driving as acting director during the National Police Agency's inspection on this day.
In addition, we plan to request that the appointment of the director be completed as soon as possible and that normalization measures encompassing personnel, manpower, and medical services be prepared.
