The Ghost Doctor Horror
How Kwon Dae-Hee’s plastic surgery turned into a nightmare
A terrifying true story from South Korea
The scariest of things could happen to us while we are under general anaesthesia in the operating room and being operated on by a Ghost Doctor is one of it.
On 8th September 2016, in Seoul, South Korea, 24-year-old Kwon Dae-Hee underwent plastic surgery. It cost him both 6.5 million won ($5,766) and his life because his surgery was performed by a Ghost Doctor.
What is a Ghost Doctor?
Have you heard of the term Ghost Doctor? If you thought they’re ghosts of doctors who had died and now haunt the hospital, then you’re wrong.
The term Ghost Doctor refers to a person who is unqualified but secretly performs surgeries in the place of qualified surgeons.
There are no medical records listing them as a doctor anywhere or that they had helped with any surgeries. It was almost as if these doctors didn’t exist and hence came the term, Ghost Doctors.
The switch between the qualified surgeon and Ghost Doctor usually happened when the patients were under general anaesthesia and were unaware of it.
This is way more terrifying than the ghosts of dead doctors haunting the hospital because these Ghost Doctors have little to no experience whatsoever, some have no medical background and all of them have no idea what they’re doing.
All of these were done for the sole purpose of making money and it’s illegal. Most of the time, these Ghost Doctors were resident doctors, dentists and nurses.
Sometimes, even the person who sold medical equipment ended up as a Ghost Doctor!
Can you imagine, one minute they’re at the hospital selling scalpels and the next they’re in the operating room performing a surgery? That is so terrifying!
Kwon Dae-Hee’s Tragic Story
Kwon Dae-Hee had no idea about these Ghost Doctors and it cost him his life.
Dae-Hee was a very humble guy and he valiantly served two years in the Korean Army. He was a high achiever who wanted to do well in life.
In South Korea, it’s very normal to get a plastic surgery done right after someone had finished high school but it wasn’t for obvious reasons.
The job market is very intense in South Korea. Beauty is taken into consideration during the hiring process alongside work experience and academic and non-academic achievements.
The most common plastic surgeries done for this purpose are rhinoplasty, double eyelid surgery and jawline surgery.
Dae-Hee was always bullied for his jawline as it did not meet the conventional beauty standards in Korea. He decided to go for a jawline surgery to increase his chances of being hired for any job. He felt it would be a smart choice for his career.
Jawline surgeries are excruciatingly painful but the risk of death is very low. Essentially, jawline surgeries are done by peeling off the skin, sawing off the bone to the desired shape and reattaching the skin.
Dae-Hee proceeded to save money for the next two years for this surgery. He was 22 years old when he started saving and was 24 years old when the surgery was performed.
His mother, Lee Na Geum (who would be referred to as Lee from this point on) and brother, Kwon Tae-Hoon, did not agree to the surgery.
Despite that, Dae-Hee booked a consultation at a well-known plastic surgery clinic that specialized in jawline surgeries.
During the consultation, the plastic surgeon explained to him that the surgery would be very simple and scheduled it for 8th September 2016 at 1.00 p.m.
The surgery would take approximately two hours and should be successfully over around 3.00 p.m.
However, on the day of the surgery, at 11.27 p.m., the plastic surgeon called the local hospital and said that they needed to send Dae-Hee over to the Emergency Room (ER) because his blood pressure was extremely low.
The plastic surgeon also claimed that Dae-Hee was still conscious and could still talk. They also said they didn’t think he was in a critical condition but he may need blood transfusion.
When Dae-Hee arrived at the ER, everyone started panicking because he was unconscious and was missing two-thirds of his blood (3.5 litres).
The doctors in the ER were baffled because the plastic surgeon sounded so calm on the phone.
They also wondered how someone could lose that much blood during plastic surgery and how it escalated to this stage while Dae-Hee was still under the care of the plastic surgeon.
The next morning, Dae-Hee’s family was alerted and they arrived at the hospital. Dae-Hee was then declared brain dead.
After seven weeks of being in a coma, on 6th October 2016, Dae-Hee passed away at the hospital.
The Chilling CCTV Footage
The plastic surgeon claimed that Dae-Hee was doing fine when he was still with them and therefore, something must have happened to him on the way to the hospital.
They said they did the procedure as usual and even gave the CCTV footage to Lee.
Lee seized this opportunity and watched the footage over and over again. She analysed every single millisecond of the footage, took note of every single thing that had happened and time stamped it.
This was what Lee gathered from the CCTV footage of 8th September 2016.
The Timeline of Horror
- 12.56 p.m. – Dae-Hee was put under general anaesthesia by the anaesthesiologist. The plastic surgeon walked in and started the surgery.
- 1.59 p.m. – The plastic surgeon walked out. That by itself is very alarming but it was nothing compared to when a new random person walked in. It was the Ghost Doctor and they started operating on him.
- 2.35 p.m. – The plastic surgeon walked back in and the Ghost Doctor left.
- 2.45 p.m. – The plastic surgeon left and the Ghost Doctor returned.
- 2.54 p.m. – The Ghost Doctor left and the nursing assistant came in. It was now two hours after the surgery had begun and it was supposed to have been over by now.
- 3.22 p.m. – After 30 minutes of having no doctors at all in the operating room, the Ghost Doctor walked back in and continued with the surgery.
- 4.17 p.m. – The surgery was over and the Ghost Doctor left.
- 4.28 p.m. – The plastic surgeon walked back in and dressed Dae-Hee’s wound. Now, this is three hours after the start of the surgery. Dae-Hee is then left with only the nursing assistant.
- 7.24 p.m. – Dae-Hee was wheeled into the clinic’s recovery room. His vitals were not being taken. For the next three hours, the nursing assistant just sat there using her phone and fixing her make-up.
- 10.44 p.m. – The anaesthesiologist came back and realized that Dae-Hee wasn’t awake yet, so he was immediately rushed to the operating room.
- 11.21 p.m. – The plastic surgeon arrived and they decided to call the ER but planned to make it seem like it’s not their fault.
- 11.27 p.m. – They made a call to the emergency number 119. This couldn’t be seen in the CCTV footage but CNN confirmed this using call records.
- 11.34 p.m. – The ambulance arrived to take Dae-Hee to the hospital.
Upon Dae-Hee’s death, the plastic surgeon and the Ghost Doctor created fake medical records and lied that they provided him with blood transfusion. Their plan was to pin this on the hospital because he died at the hospital, not while he was with them.
But Lee had all the evidence she needed in the CCTV footage and she wasn’t going to let this go. Them giving her the CCTV footage was their undoing. I’m guessing they did not expect her to analyse it as thoroughly as she did.
Justice and Legacy
She launched a civil case against the clinic and in May 2019, she won damages of 430 million won ($381,000).
The three doctors involved (the plastic surgeon, the Ghost Doctor and the anaesthesiologist) faced criminal charges for manslaughter. Two other doctors and a nursing assistant faced charges of unlicensed medical acts.
Another doctor faced charges of violating medical laws by exaggeration of advertisement. These were the clinic’s advertisements:
“14 Years In Business Without A Single Medical Accident”
“Head Doctor Operates From Start To Finish”
They were each given a fine of 7 million won ($5700) and sentenced to two years in prison. Just two years! Even when Lee appealed, the court didn’t want to look further into the matter and dismissed the case.
Lee was very frustrated with this and spent literally every waking moment of her life outside the parliament in Seoul because she wanted a bill to be passed where it would be mandatory for every operating room in hospitals and clinics to have a CCTV.
Lee was very dedicated to sharing the truth about this clinic to create awareness of what happened in the operating room and the importance of this bill.
The doctors opposed this bill by saying they wouldn’t feel comfortable saving lives if that were the case. The public spoke and the general consensus wanted a CCTV in operating rooms.
Finally, in August 2021, the Kwon Dae-Hee bill was passed, mandating CCTV in operating rooms. South Korea was the first country to do this on a national level.
Questions About Ghost Doctors?
A Ghost Doctor is an unqualified person who secretly performs surgeries in place of qualified surgeons, often when the patient is under anesthesia. They may have little to no medical training and their actions are completely illegal.
The clinic was trying to maximize profits by having unqualified personnel perform surgeries. The qualified surgeon left multiple times during the procedure, allowing the Ghost Doctor to take over, leading to fatal mistakes in Dae-Hee’s case.
The doctors involved received only two years in prison and small fines. Dae-Hee’s mother won a civil case but was unsatisfied with the criminal penalties, leading her to campaign for operating room CCTV laws.
Passed in August 2021, this law mandates CCTV cameras in all operating rooms in South Korea – the first national law of its kind in the world. It was the result of Lee Na Geum’s persistent campaigning after her son’s death.
While exact numbers are unknown, the practice was reportedly common enough in South Korea’s competitive plastic surgery industry that it required national legislation to combat it. The Kwon Dae-Hee case brought significant attention to the issue.
Would You Trust Your Surgeon?
Kwon Dae-Hee’s tragic story exposes the dark underbelly of the medical industry and the terrifying reality of Ghost Doctors. While South Korea has taken steps to prevent such tragedies, his case serves as a sobering reminder of the importance of medical transparency.