Dispute intensifies over police search of pediatric emergency room

A recent police search of Ajou University Hospital’s pediatric emergency center as part of an investigation into an infant’s death has sparked an uproar among medical groups, warning that police sweeps of emergency rooms obstruct vital treatment when seconds count. Regional medical associations, including one in Daegu, condemned the search Friday, a day after the Korean Medical Association and the Korean Society of Pediatric Emergency Medicine (KSPEM) voiced their objections. Police maintain that they conducted the search under a court-issued warrant. Doctors counter that searching an emergency facility providing round-the-clock care for critically ill patients disrupts treatment and puts further pressure on essential medical services already under strain. The investigation stems from the death of a 4-month-old infant at the hospital in Gyeonggi Province on July 15. The child’s parents lodged a complaint alleging medical negligence about a month later. The infant reportedly developed breathing difficulties and other symptoms during a first outpatient visit to the hospital. The chil