Following the official apology from psychiatrist Yang Jae Woong, better known as EXIDHani‘s fiancé, Dispatch interviewed the mother of Yang’s late patient, who slammed him for being shameless and pretentious.
According to Dispatch, two months have passed since the 33-year-old patient, Park, died in Yang’s W Jin Hospital in Bucheon, Korea—and no one has been held accountable. During this time, Yang announced his marriage to Hani and continued with his radio and YouTube program appearances as usual.
Psychiatrist Yang Jae Woong (left) and EXID’s Hani (right) | @ahnanihh/Instagram
Park’s mother protested in front of the hospital, pleading for the truth about her daughter’s sudden death to be revealed. Dispatch slammed the hospital for not acknowledging the mother’s presence and, instead, reporting her to the police.
I lost my daughter. My family is suffering. The people from the hospital walked past me with shamelessness. Not a single one of them apologized. Then, the police showed up. So instead of apologizing to me, the hospital reported me.
— Park’s Mother
Dispatch detailed what had happened to Park on May 27, 2024 (KST) at W Jin Hospital. According to the National Forensic Service‘s autopsy report, Park passed away due to an intestinal obstruction. The hospital, however, responded to the medical emergency by administering tranquilizers.
Park’s mother expressed outrage, saying, “Even though my daughter complained of abdominal pain, the hospital left her confined in an isolation room. She asked for 911 to be called, but the hospital disregarded her request.”
Late Park’s abdomen on May 11 vs. May 27. | SBS
Park was reported to have been a talented individual who graduated from a prestigious university in New York and worked as a teaching assistant in the economics department of a well-known university in Korea. Park was admitted to Yang’s hospital for addiction symptoms to a weight loss pill, also known as the “butterfly pill” (Phentermine), though, she lost her life after 17 days of hospitalization there.
When contacted for comments, the hospital told Dispatch, “The person in charge is unavailable.”
Yang’s W Jin Hospital in Bucheon, Korea | Dispatch
What Happened In Those 17 Days?
According to Dispatch, Park’s mother learned about the “Yang Brothers,” Yang Jae Jin and Yang Jae Woong, through the multiple media appearances that the two had been making. She developed trust in their words and searched for their facilities. Then, she talked to her daughter about W Jin Hospital, the one belonging to the younger brother Yang Jae Woong.
In her interview, she voiced concerns about the treatment process at Yang’s hospital. She mentioned that, during the 17 days of Park’s stay, there was no progress reports from the hospital. Yang was never present, either.
Dispatch (D): What led you to choose W Jin Hospital?
Park’s Mother (M): It offered a treatment program specific to diet pill addiction. I watched multiple TV shows featuring the Yang brothers and thought I could trust them. However, Yang Jae Woong never treated my daughter. I was told he only sees patients three days a week in the afternoons.
D: What was the doctor’s opinion when you first visited the hospital?
M: Some other doctor (who was not Yang) was assigned as the attending. My daughter told this doctor that her condition was not severe enough for hospitalization, but the doctor decided to admit her and monitor her. However, I never received any updates on how she was doing. The only person I could get a hold of at the hospital was the head nurse, Nurse B.
D: What did you discuss with the head nurse?
M: Nurse B told me to bring in diapers because my daughter kept urinating on the floor. I was devastated to hear this. She went into the hospital in what I thought was normal condition… So, what had happened? Later, though, when I reviewed the CCTV footage, I learned that she peed on the floor because she was not being allowed out of her isolation room. Not even to use the bathroom.
D: How often did you visit the hospital?
M: In the first week, I went to see her every day. After being admitted, my daughter told me some things she needed. So I brought those to her daily. After that, I visited the hospital every other day.
D: When did you first notice changes in your daughter?
M: During our phone conversations, I did feel like she was slurring her speech. She spoke perfectly fine before, so it was strange. I asked Nurse B if she was being given tranquilizers. The nurse said yes. I requested that they stop giving her tranquilizers because it was affecting the way she talked. The nurse replied that she understood. However, I was shocked when I reviewed the CCTV footage. It showed that tranquilizers were being administered up until the time of her death.
D: Did your daughter ever directly discuss issues with her treatment?
M: No, I didn’t know about what was happening to her while she was in the hospital. It was only after her death that I learned from the CCTV footage that she had been confined to an isolation room and given tranquilizers. It must have been hell, being locked in a small room and given medication. The hospital made her so disoriented that she couldn’t even communicate.
Dispatch then reiterated that, according to the National Forensic Service, Park’s cause of death was “pseudo-intestinal obstruction.” A pseudo-intestinal obstruction means the intestines are blocked due to nerve issues, preventing food from passing through—causing abdominal distension, constipation, and vomiting.
Park complained of intermittent abdominal pain after being admitted, including on the day before her death.
| SBS
D: There was abdominal pain involved.
M: Yes. But the hospital labeled my daughter as a “chronic constipation patient,” which was not true. Several other patients have come forward and told me that, one day, my daughter was in so much pain that she fell to the floor. Another patient had to help her up her bed.
The CCTV footage from the day my daughter died shows her dealing with a nosebleed. She apparently asked 911 to be called. But the hospital ignored her. Again, this is all according to the other patients who were there in the hospital with her. Someone also testified that, when my daughter complained of pain for the last time, a medical assistant remarked, “There she goes again, with the moaning.” I’m not making any of this up. I was told first hand.
Park’s mother insisted that the hospital neglected her daughter and is 100% responsible for her death. Also pointing out that the family was not contacted on the day of Park’s death, the enraged mother explained that she has since filed a lawsuit against the hospital for negligent manslaughter.
Inside W Jin Hospital where regular “internal medicine check-up” is promoted. | Dispatch
M: All over the walls in the hospital, it lists services like “internal medicine” and “endoscopy.” If there had been an internal medicine doctor at that hospital, they would have absolutely known something was wrong with my daughter. Her abdomen started swelling like a pregnant woman’s 2 to 3 days before her death. This is also visible on the CCTV footage.
Now, if there had been an internal medicine doctor, then they should be charged with negligent manslaughter. If not, then the hospital is responsible for false advertisement and fraud.
D: Did anyone in the family consent to the isolation room confinement?
Park’s Brother(B): Not that I know of. The CCTV footage shows how tiny the isolation room is. I have all the CCTV footage. My sister was confined there about ten times. Other patients’ families told us that this could happen without consent. I didn’t know that it was a problem.
D: What about CPR that was performed by nurse assistants?
M: It was nurse assistants and caregivers who administered CPR on my daughter, not doctors. It was given in nonsense form, like they were trying to wake my daughter up from a nap. That’s not how CPR should be given. However, when I met with lawyers, they said that it’s impossible to win a case using medical law. The reality is devastating.
| SBS
D: Did you receive any contact from the hospital on the day of the death?
B: No. We were first made aware of her passing when we received a phone call from the “S” University Hospital in Bucheon. Around 4:20 AM, we were informed that my sister had gone into cardiac arrest. There was no contact from W Jin Hospital whatsoever. The hospital did not reach out to us until my mother called them.
M: At 7 AM, I noticed I had a missed call from my son. I called W Jin Hospital. The hospital told me, “Hasn’t your son told you?” and suggested, “You should talk to your son about it.”
D: So you filed a lawsuit.
M: My daughter was killed by the hospital’s negligence. I’m charging them with negligent manslaughter. Those responsible must be held accountable and face appropriate punishment. I hope everyone will continue to watch over the case and see justice being brought to them.
On May 31, 2024 (KST), 4 days after Park’s death, Yang and Hani announced their wedding plans. Park’s family expressed great disappointment in the insensitivity and told Dispatch that they wanted to raise awareness about Park’s death to make things right. So, over the past two months, they have been active in pursuing public petitions, releasing YouTube videos, and reporting to the media.
That’s when SBS covered Park’s death. As the case garnered public attention, Yang issued an apology through his agency, Mystic Story. Park’s family criticized the apology, calling it a “show.” The family told Dispatch, “Yang may have issued a public apology, but he never reached out to our family directly.”
D: Yang and Hani’s marriage announcement came four days after Park’s death.
M: How could he? But I couldn’t say anything because my lawyers had advised me against what could be considered defamation.
D: what did you think about Yang’s apology?
M: The same day he issued his statement, I was in front of the hospital protesting. Yang walked right past me. He didn’t even look at me, acting so shameless. It wasn’t just him, though. Everyone at the hospital acted the same way toward me.
If he did really feel genuine remorse, he should have at least acknowledged me during my protest. He walked past me without a care. Only after the news coverage did he release a statement. Yang is not qualified to be a psychiatrist.
D: He issued the apology through his agency rather than the hospital.
M: Exactly. Yang is not a doctor, he is a celebrity. As the head of the hospital, he should have addressed this personally. Why would he release the statement through his agency? It’s obviously to quell the public backlash.
D: Is there anything else you would like to say?
M: It has been two months since I lost my girl. No one has been held accountable for her wrongful death. Nothing has changed except that my daughter is gone. People working at W Jin Hospital have continued having no shame. But when someone commits a crime, shouldn’t they pay for it?
Neither Yang Jae Woong nor W Jin Hospital has responded to the Dispatch report at the time of writing.
