Severed Leg Found at Recycling Center: "No Other Hospital Would Take the Patient"

Police investigating the discovery of a human leg at a resource recovery center in Incheon announced today (June 19) that they will conduct a strict investigation into the hospital corporation, the manager in charge, and the volunteer who discarded the waste to determine if there were any violations of the Wastes Control Act.

It has been confirmed that a nursing hospital in Jung-gu, Incheon, performed an amputation on an inpatient in their 80s on June 8 due to severe necrosis in the patient's leg, and subsequently disposed of the severed limb in a container designated for medical waste.

The following day, a man in his 60s, who is a volunteer cleaner at the hospital, reportedly mistook the leg inside the container for a plaster cast and placed it into a recycling bag for disposal.

Lee Heon, head of the detective division at Yeonsu Police Station, explained the circumstances of the report during a press briefing today. He stated that after seeing related news reports, the hospital staff suspected that the leg from their facility might have been misclassified and sent out with recyclables, leading the hospital's administrative manager to visit the police station's civil affairs office.

Citing statements from the hospital, Lee noted that the patient's leg was in a severe state of necrosis, filled with pus, and that the knee area had already become detached.

He added that police have secured CCTV footage showing the volunteer carrying the leg out in a recycling bag.

When asked about the fact that nursing hospitals typically do not have operating rooms and whether the amputation was performed there, Lee relayed that the necrosis was caused by blood circulation issues due to the patient's advanced age. He stated that the patient's family explained, "The condition was so severe that no other hospital would accept the patient, so they desperately pleaded with the nursing hospital to perform the procedure, and the hospital agreed."

The police plan to thoroughly review whether performing an amputation in a hospital room constitutes a violation of the Medical Service Act, in consultation with the Korean Medical Association and the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

As of now, no individuals have been booked in connection with this case, and the police are conducting a pre-booking investigation into potential violations of the Wastes Control Act.

The police intend to continue their investigation into the existence of surgical records and the specific circumstances at the time of the procedure.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.