By Na Eun-jung Police have launched an investigation after a radiographer in her 20s who had complained of workplace bullying was found dead at a general hospital in North Jeolla Province.
According to the Gunsan Police Station, the radiographer, identified only as A, was found dead Monday in a flower bed near an apartment complex in Gunsan.
A had been hired on a contract basis at the hospital and had been working there since early last month. When she failed to show up for work that day, police responded to a report and found her body after searching the area around the apartment complex.
A's cousin said she had been seen crying in front of a shoe cabinet two days earlier, saying she did not want to go to work. "She also told her friends she was having a hard time," the cousin said, adding that the family was considering legal action after gathering relevant testimony.
The hospital said it had asked an outside labor expert to verify the facts for an objective investigation and was also questioning colleagues who had worked alongside A.
Police said they are investigating the exact circumstances of the case.
Meanwhile, police have formed a dedicated investigative team of about 20 officers and launched a preliminary inquiry into a separate case involving nurse B, also in her 20s, who died in early June after allegedly suffering from "taeeum" — a practice in which senior nurses repeatedly verbally abuse and harass junior colleagues under the guise of training.
B had endured three years at the hospital before resigning last April and filing a workplace bullying complaint with the Ministry of Employment and Labor. Of the three people she named as perpetrators, only one was found to have committed bullying — and even then, the hospital issued only a reprimand. She died shortly after.
If you're thinking about self-harm or suicide, contact the Ministry of Health and Welfare's helpline 1393, available 24/7. Please request a translator for English-language services.
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