Another pediatric clinic to close due to malicious complaints

A doctor who had been running a pediatric clinic for 20 years will shut down the establishment because of alleged malicious complaints made by a parent, the latest in a series of closures of pediatric clinics.

The clinic, located in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, will shut down on Aug. 5 because it was subject to "malicious false complaints" from a parent, it said in a closure notice dated Thursday.

The child, who was born in 2019, visited the clinic recently with a skin condition, local media reported. The parent complained they were not given sufficient explanation in advance for the cost of the treatment, which was 2,000 won ($1.5), and asked for a refund. The clinic eventually refunded the parent.

The clinic claimed the parent left a complaint online and later filed one officially with the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, even though the patient's condition was "much improved" after treatment.

While the past 20 years have been "a great joy," the doctor decided to close down the practice because they could no longer solely care for the patients. The doctor will instead open another clinic to treat chronic pain and internal medicine-related diseases, the notice read.

Dr. Lim Hyun-taek, president of the Korean Pediatric Association, who spoke with the doctor, said in a Facebook post Thursday that "all pediatricians in Korea are experiencing the same problem."

Some pediatricians were allegedly verbally abused by parents, or threatened with lawsuits, forcing them to shut down their businesses, Lim said earlier in a separate interview.

Korea has seen a rapid decline of pediatric clinics in recent years.

One in 10 pediatric clinics in Seoul have closed in the past five years due to Korea’s low birth rate and chronic unprofitability, according to a recent report released by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service.

The number of pediatric clinics decreased to 456 in Seoul last year, down 12.5 percent from 521 in 2017. On top of the ultralow birth rate, the government has also frozen doctor consultation fees for over 30 years.