Korean Government's List of Hospitals with MERS Cases Riddled with Errors

Following criticisms regarding its decision to keep the names and locations of hospitals dealing with MERS patients from the general public, the Korean government has now officially released a list of clinics and hospitals where the virus has been diagnosed. However, the government is now facing a new barrage of criticism after numerous errors were discovered within the list that it provided.

In one case, the government mistakenly listed the location of St. Mary’s Family Medicine Clinic, saying it was in Gunpo City, Gyeonggi-do. After checking with the local community health center in that city, however, it was discovered that St. Mary’s Family Medicine Clinic is actually located in Seoul’s Seongdong District.

Aside from this, other errors were also discovered. The list also erroneously mentions a St. Mary’s Hospital in Seoul’s Yeouido District despite there being no Yeouido District in the city. The hospital is actually located in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo District. The list also mentions a Pyeongtaek Blue Hospital that does not actually exist. It is likely that the list is in fact referring to Pyeongtaek Blue Clinic, located in Pyeongtaek City.

Finally, the list refers to an internal medicine clinic located in Sunchang, North Jeolla Province, but does not specify if is located within Sunchang County or Sunchang City. The clinic’s location was subsequently verified as Sunchang County.

Source: (1)