South Korean boy, 5, dies in Seoul after 4 hospitals refuse to admit him

The youngster, who’d developed breathing difficulties, died after being unable to get a bed; a lack of staff was also given as a reason for turning him away

Nation has major healthcare crisis, with huge shortage of doctors and arguments between staff and government over how to improve nurses’ conditions

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An ambulance in Seoul. The healthcare system in South Korea is massively understaffed, which is leading to suffering and death. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 2:00pm, 20 May 2023

The death of a boy following an agonising wait for a hospital bed has put the spotlight on South Korea’s stretched health system which is bracing for further strain after President Yoon Suk-yeol vetoed controversial legislation that promised nurses better working conditions.

The five-year-old, suffering from severe breathing difficulties, died this month after four hospitals in Seoul turned his family away citing a lack of beds or health workers.

A fifth hospital took the boy in as an outpatient and treated him for laryngotracheobronchitis (a respiratory infection) before discharging him.

But the diagnosis and treatment reportedly did not improve his condition and he collapsed. He was rushed to a nearby emergency clinic but died about 40 minutes after his arrival.

The health centre where the boy was initially treated claimed he was allowed to leave after staff assessed his condition was stable, the Korea Herald reported.

A waiting room at a hospital in Seoul. File photo: Shutterstock

His death came during the Children’s Day weekend in early May, when Yoon told a gathering he would establish a system “offering world-class education and healthcare support for every child”.