As a male professor of pulmonary and critical care at Asan Medical Center (AMC) is set to be reinstated in September after being suspended for sexually molesting more than 10 female hospital staffers, a group of female physicians urged the hospital to safeguard the victims and develop measures to prevent a similar incident.
The Korean Medical Women's Association (KMWA), representing about 30,000 Korean woman physicians, issued a statement on Tuesday, stating that Health and Welfare Minister Cho Kyoo-hong expressed his commitment to creating an improvement plan following discussions with medical professionals during a plenary session of the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee on Thursday last week.
“We call on all medical professionals to be vigilant and prevent such disgraceful incidents in the healthcare field,” emphasized the KMWA.
The group of female physicians has consistently advocated against incidents of sexual misconduct, sexual harassment, and sexual violence, underscoring the need for comprehensive education and the establishment of legal and institutional frameworks to prevent such occurrences.
"Nevertheless, it is deeply unsettling that a medical school professor responsible for medical treatment and education at a university hospital has subjected female staff members to verbal sexual harassment and non-consensual physical contact, resulting in their discomfort, mental distress, and an unstable working environment," expressed the KMWA.
It highlighted the immense mental stress experienced by the female trainee doctors and nurses at AMC, who struggled with the decision of whether to continue working at the institution.
The women's medical association emphasized the utmost priority of protecting the victims and urged AMC to "safeguard the rights and interests of those affected by the incident, implement clear measures of separation, and take decisive action to prevent any recurrence."
In April, AMC imposed a five-month suspension on the professor from the pulmonary department, who was reported to have sexually harassed more than 10 hospital staffers, including female doctors and nurses.
According to local news reports, the professor's acts of sexual molestation involved touching a resident's chest under the pretense of demonstrating an echocardiogram and encircling a resident's waist with his arms.