Severed leg found at South Korean waste center likely belongs to hospitalized patient

South Korean police are investigating the unsettling discovery of a severed leg found at a waste resource recovery center in Incheon. The leg, measuring 41 centimeters from just below the knee to the heel, with a foot size of 210 millimeters, is believed to belong to a patient currently hospitalized after a leg amputation surgery.

Authorities have identified a patient undergoing treatment at a local hospital and have collected DNA samples for urgent testing at the National Forensic Service. The police are working to confirm if the leg belongs to this individual. If the DNA matches, the investigation will shift to how the medical waste, specifically the amputated limb, was improperly discarded with general refuse.

Medical waste is strictly regulated in South Korea and must be separated from regular trash and handled by designated waste disposal companies. The discovery was made on June 10, and initial estimates suggest the person to whom the leg belonged is an adult between 161 and 165 centimeters tall.

Police have been collecting DNA from families of missing adults in the Incheon and surrounding areas as part of their investigation into potential criminal involvement. They have also collected black box footage from 22 waste collection vehicles that accessed the center around the time of the discovery and are analyzing CCTV footage from the garbage collection areas. Despite extensive searches using detection dogs, no other body parts have been found at the center.

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The body part found at the life resource recovery center is highly likely to be the body part of the person currently receiving treatment at the hospital.