Police Investigate Jaseng Hospital for Alleged Multi-Billion Won Insurance Fraud

Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's financial crime investigation unit has initiated a forced investigation into the Jaseng Medical Foundation and its affiliated Jaseng Korean Medicine Hospital in Gangnam, Seoul, on suspicion of insurance fraud totaling billions of won. The investigation began with a search and seizure operation at the foundation and hospital premises.

The probe stems from a complaint filed in April by four insurance companies, including Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance and Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance. They allege that Jaseng Korean Medicine Hospital systematically defrauded insurers by providing factory-produced herbal medicines, misrepresented as individually prescribed treatments, to patients involved in traffic accidents. The complaint reportedly names the chairman of the Jaseng Medical Foundation, the directors of 21 Jaseng Korean Medicine Hospitals nationwide, and the representative of an external herbal medicine preparation center as defendants.

According to Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport regulations, medical professionals are required to prescribe herbal medicines individually tailored to the symptoms and conditions of traffic accident patients. Police are seeking to secure prescription records and internal documents through the current search and seizure to ascertain whether the foundation issued systematic instructions for insurance fraud. They will also focus on determining if the alleged insurance fraud charges are legally substantiated.

The allegations suggest a large-scale deception where pre-manufactured herbal remedies were passed off as custom prescriptions, leading to potentially significant financial losses for insurance companies. The investigation aims to uncover the extent of the alleged fraud and hold those responsible accountable.