Samsung Medical Center Negates Claims of Preferential Treatment to Bae Yong-joon and Park Soo-jin

Park Soo-jin apologized in a handwritten letter. Photo from her Instagram @ssujining.

Samsung Medical Center (SMC) negated the claims of unfair treatment of patients with regards to the actor Bae Yong-joon and actress Park Soo-jin's exemption from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) visiting policy.

"I lost my judgment and I deeply regret that," apologized the actress.

On November 28, a representative at the SMC told YTN Star that "grandparents [of the infant] are permitted to visit through consultation of the physician in charge. The family members of the accuser [who claimed Bae and Park received preferential treatment from the hospital] were also permitted for a visit," emphasizing that "no preferential treatment was given to the celebrity parents."

An online post circulating on social media accused Samsung Medical Center of unfair treatment of patients, claiming that Bae and Park benefited from their celebrity status. "The hospital permitted visits to the family members and the managers of the celebrity couple, even though the NICU only allows parents of the infant for visits," read the post.

As the argument surrounding her treatment at the hospital ensued, Park expressed her thoughts via a handwritten letter posted on her Instagram on November 27, apologizing that "it was my first childbirth and as [the baby] was born prematurely, my judgment was clouded. I lost my judgment and I deeply regret that."

The writer of the post refuted the hospital's attempt to play down the preferential treatment. "When my mother wheeled me to the NICU after my C-section, the nurse snapped at my mother and turned her away because grandparents of the infants weren't allowed in," she wrote. "New mothers at the hospital are upset because the celebrity parents were allowed to do something that wasn't allowed to the other parents."

She added, however, that "[Park Soo-jin] called me up in person and apologized. She said she was pregnant with her second child and didn't sound very well," asking "not to be harsh on Ms. Park" although she is "upset about the hospital's preferential treatment."

By Goldbin and Arin Kim voomvoomk@gmail.com