25.04.03.Today News : 3 nurses at Daegu Catholic University Hospital confirmed newborn abuse / ‘2 tons of cocaine’ seized in Gangneung

1. 3 nurses at Daegu Catholic University Hospital confirmed newborn abuse

A nurse in the nursery at Daegu Catholic University Hospital abused a week-old baby, sparking controversy and raising suspicions that there are more newborns at the hospital.

According to the medical community on the 3rd, A, the father of a newborn baby who was abused, said, “I confirmed that there are more nurses who abused the baby in the neonatal room the night before.” “There are a total of four nurses who have been reported so far, and three of them have been confirmed,” he said.

“After my baby's case was reported in the media, we received many reports of additional abusive behavior and information from nurses,” she said, adding, “If they did this to my baby, they must have done the same to other babies.”

Six additional photos of alleged abuse provided by Ms. A show her baby being treated in the neonatal unit and are labeled with words written by nurses. Specifically, the photos show the patient being treated in the neonatal unit and the words written by the nurses, such as, “I can discharge her because she's screaming, but why did she come...as soon as she came, I got mad and restrained her,” “Why is the vocalization theory right, all the other babies are quiet, but she's been asking to be held by herself since I came to work,” “She's really bad tempered, just like OO,” and "I didn't stop her from crying, but she's quiet, so I gave it to her.

“The day before, between 11 p.m. and 12 p.m., I couldn't stand it anymore and went to the hospital,” A said, "and the personnel department said, 'I'm sorry. They admitted that it was abuse," he said. “However, there is still no action or official apology from the hospital for this incident,” she said, adding, “I think there are many more babies who have been affected, not just my baby.”

The parents of the newborn filed a complaint against the hospital at the Daegu South Police Station's Women's Youth Division at 6 p.m. on March 2. The case has now been transferred to the Daegu National Police Agency. If the victim of child abuse is under 10 years old or disabled, the Daegu Police Agency will investigate directly.

“The hospital keeps saying that there is no closed-circuit (CC) TV in the neonatal room, so we can't see the nurses' abuse,” Ae-ra said. "It's not just physical abuse. It is ‘mental abuse’ inflicted on the child," he emphasized.

“The hospital continues to blame it on the ‘deviation of the nurse,’” he said. "The hospital professor, associate professor, and the director of the neonatal center have all admitted their mistakes and apologized, but the hospital refuses to acknowledge it. This problem is not the fault of the offending nurse alone. The hospital failed to manage the nurse and violated the trust of the parents who trusted the hospital with their babies."

The hospital is discussing whether to file charges against the offending nurse. They are also investigating whether there are more cases of abuse. “We called the nurse in question to confirm the facts,” said a hospital official, "and she admitted to everything. The resignation letter submitted by the offending nurse has not yet been accepted," said a hospital official. “The hospital is aware of the seriousness of the situation,” he said, adding, "We are currently discussing follow-up procedures. We cannot confirm any further details."

One-line summary : Amid controversy over the alleged abuse of newborns by a nurse in the neonatal unit at Daegu Catholic University Hospital, the hospital's response has come under scrutiny amid allegations of further abuse.

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2. ‘2 tons of cocaine’ seized in Gangneung

Two tons of cocaine was seized from a foreign ship that entered Gangneung. This is enough for 67 million people to take at the same time, making it the largest single drug smuggling case ever detected in Korea.

According to the Korea Customs Service, the day before, the Korea Customs Service and the Korea Coast Guard conducted a thorough search of a foreign trade ship (Norwegian flagged) from Mexico that entered Okgye Port in Gangneung City and seized 57 boxes of suspected cocaine. The street value is worth 1 trillion won.

After receiving information from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Korea Customs Service established a joint search operation against the vessel in collaboration with the Korea Coast Guard, and deployed a large-scale joint search team, including 90 narcotics investigators from Seoul Customs and Donghae Coast Guard, and two teams of customs drug detection dogs, to conduct a thorough search.

While searching the entire vessel, the joint search team found a stash room at the back of the engine room, where the Customs drug detection dogs reacted and searched intensively inside the stash room, finding boxes containing dozens of 1-kilogram blocks.

The blocks (suspected narcotic substances) were found to be suspected cocaine in an emergency simple reagent test conducted on site. Customs will ask the National Institute of Forensic Science to confirm the type of drug in the blocks found on the vessel.

The seized vessel is a 32,000-ton bulk carrier that is believed to have departed from Mexico and entered the Okgye Port in Gangneung City via Ecuador, Panama, and China.

In the future, the Korea Customs Service plans to form a joint investigation team with the Coast Guard to investigate whether the captain and crew of the seized vessel, including 20 people, conspired to smuggle drugs, the source of the drugs, the smuggling route, and the final destination.

In addition, the investigation will be expanded in cooperation with related agencies such as the FBI and HSI, not ruling out links to international drug organizations.

“It is understood that international drug organizations are continuing to try to open new markets such as Asia due to the strict drug control policies of North American countries such as the United States,” said Ko Kwang-hyo, head of the Korea Customs Service. “The Customs Service will focus its enforcement capabilities on eradicating drug smuggling through the sea by strengthening cooperation with overseas related organizations such as the FBI and HSI.”

One-line summary : The seizure of two tons of cocaine valued at approximately KRW 1 trillion from a Norwegian-flagged foreign trading vessel in Gangneung marked the largest drug smuggling seizure ever in a single incident in Korea, and the Korea Customs Service and Coast Guard plan to expand the investigation to include links to international drug organizations.