Photo not related to article. [Getty Images Bank]
Photo not related to article. [Getty Images Bank]

A police officer who drunkenly caused a disturbance at a hospital emergency room has had her fine upheld on appeal.

The fourth criminal division of the Gangneung branch of Chuncheon District Court dismissed a prosecution appeal and upheld the original sentence of 10 million won ($6,500) against Officer A, a corporal, on charges of violating the Emergency Medical Services Act.

The corporal, who was assigned to the Gangwon Provincial Police Agency's mobile patrol unit, was indicted for obstructing emergency medical care after causing a disturbance at a hospital emergency room in Gangneung in May 2024.

According to the charges, she arrived at the emergency room drunk, claiming she had fallen and been injured. She became angry when medical staff attempted to perform a CT scan of only her face rather than a full-body scan, and complained of being treated rudely.

She shouted at a nurse, demanding a full-body scan and saying her entire body was in pain. When a doctor asked whether she wished to proceed with treatment, she said she would not and called the place "filthy," then shoved the doctor once.

When a nurse asked why she kept acting irritated, she snapped back, asking whether the nurse would not be irritated while in pain, and whether the nurse treated her own family the same way. She then followed the nurse while hurling profanity and shouting, "Go ahead and report me — I'm a cop," disrupting the emergency room for about 20 minutes.

The hospital, unable to carry out normal operations because of the disturbance, ultimately called 112. The Gangwon Provincial Police Agency convened a disciplinary committee in August of that year and demoted her one rank, from sergeant to corporal.

The first-instance court said the offense was not minor, noting that she had verbally and physically assaulted a doctor and nurse while receiving emergency treatment and had obstructed emergency medical services. It added that it had taken into account her admission of wrongdoing, her remorse, and the fact that she had no prior criminal record. The appeals court dismissed the prosecution's challenge, which argued the original sentence was too lenient.


choigo@heraldcorp.com