Korea police, health ministry draft guidelines for emergency-room accident probes

South Korea's health ministry and the national police agency said Tuesday they are drawing up guidelines for investigating medical accidents in essential-care fields such as emergency rooms, following criticism of a police search at a pediatric emergency center.

The two bodies agreed on the need for the guidelines at a meeting between their heads on Tuesday, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said, after police searched the pediatric emergency medical center at Ajou University Hospital and doctors pushed back.

Under the plan, officers responding to 112 emergency calls about deaths in essential-care units would consult hospital managers before entering and would try to work outside spaces used for emergency treatment. Investigators would also weigh the impact on emergency care and on medical equipment and systems while gathering evidence, the police agency said.

Search warrants would be limited to cases with suspected circumstances or connections under the Criminal Procedure Act, and executed within the minimum scope needed, with priority given to non-treatment areas and to consulting administrative and computing staff first, according to the plan. Officers would also observe due process, including the right to participate, and the conditions set out in the warrant.

The police agency said it will collect opinions from the medical community and from investigators in the field before issuing the guidelines and distributing them quickly to frontline officers.

Health Minister Jeong Eun-kyung said she hopes the guidelines will help create an environment where medical staff can work without anxiety, which she said is needed to sustain essential care over the long term. She added that the ministry will continue to discuss and cooperate with the medical community and the police.

Kim Jong-cheol, the police agency's acting commissioner general, paid tribute to medical workers dedicated to saving lives. "The police have conducted investigations carefully while respecting the expertise and special characteristics of medical sites, and these guidelines will make that principle clearer," he said.

The dispute began with the search at Ajou University Hospital's pediatric emergency center, which drew sustained objections from doctors' groups. On Oct. 30, the health ministry met the Korean Society of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, chaired by Ryu Jung-min, to hear its views, and accepted the police agency's proposal for the minister and the acting commissioner to meet directly.