25 Seoul Plastic Surgery and Dermatology Clinics Caught Illegally Disposing of Liposuction Waste in Toilets

Twenty-five plastic surgery and dermatology clinics in Seoul have been caught violating medical waste disposal regulations by flushing human fat and waste blood generated during liposuction and plastic surgeries down sinks and toilet bowls.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government's Judicial Police Service announced today (Sept. 3) that it has uncovered a total of 36 violations across these 25 clinics and has referred 25 individuals involved to prosecutors with recommendations for indictment on charges of violating the Wastes Control Act.

Medical waste such as blood, bodily fluids, and needles are required to be managed separately to prevent secondary infection accidents.

In particular, human tissue waste such as human fat is prone to rapid decomposition at room temperature and raises concerns over foul odors and secondary infections, thus requiring storage in dedicated containers inside refrigerated facilities.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government's Judicial Police Service selected targets for investigation by analyzing the electronic waste management information system (Allbaro System) and hospital websites, and has conducted on-site investigations and supplementary probes since January of last year.

As a result, authorities uncovered 2 cases of illegal discharge, 24 cases of storage standard violations, and 10 cases of violations regarding the use of dedicated containers.

It was revealed that some hospitals illegally discharged tissue waste, such as human fat and waste blood from liposuction and eye or nose plastic surgeries, by dumping them into sinks and toilet bowls.

In other instances, tissue waste was mixed with general medical waste, kept at room temperature, and then outsourced for disposal as general medical waste, or medical waste with a storage limit of 15 or 30 days was stored for 3 to 6 months.

Hospitals that reused dedicated containers that had already been used once or used dedicated containers without recording the start date of use were also caught.

Violations of medical waste treatment standards are punishable by up to 2 years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won under the Wastes Control Act.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government's Judicial Police Service explained that doctors and nurses were not fully aware of the medical waste treatment standards, adding, "We confirmed the necessity to supplement the educational content and target participants so that training for medical waste generators and collection and transportation companies can be practically utilized in the field."

Lee Chang-seok, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Judicial Police Service, stated, "Since tissue waste decomposes rapidly at room temperature and can increase the risk of foul odors and infection, hospitals and clinics must strictly observe storage and disposal standards starting from the generation stage." He added, "We will share the results of this investigation with autonomous districts and implement on-site training and institutional improvements in parallel to protect citizen safety from medical waste."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.