A Korean-American dentist accused of sexually assaulting a female employee over several years is drawing attention to ethical concerns in the medical field.
[Dentist in LA Koreatown sued for repeated sexual assault on clinic employee]
While currently only an allegation, the case’s implications for the medical community could be significant if it proceeds to court.
The Korea Daily confirmed that the plaintiff reported the incident to the Olympic Community Police Station on May 22 last year and to the Dental Board of California (DBC) on May 31, 2023.
DBC will conduct its own investigation apart from the civil suit. The outcome of the DBC’s investigation will be closely watched, as it is a matter of medical ethics.
“The review of the complaint will take several months.,” DBC’s acknowledgment letter to the victim said, “Investigators will obtain and review all records and documents, and depending on the circumstances, (the victim) may choose to pursue court action through an attorney.”
The dentist, who is the defendant in the lawsuit, was also recently disciplined by the DBC.
According to the DBC, the dentist was placed on probation in February 2021 in connection with a medical malpractice complaint filed by a patient.
“The DBC placed the dentist on probation from December 2021 to December 2023 for gross and repeated negligence in medical practice,” the DBC said.
In addition, according to the DBC, the Korean-American dentist was disciplined by the DBC for failing to record that he had been ordered to temporarily suspend his license by the Oregon State Board of Dentistry for two years since September 1994 while practicing in Oregon.
According to the complaint, the defendant allegedly continued to send sexually explicit text messages to the plaintiff, including sexual assaults, as well as solicitations.
According to the text message records obtained by the plaintiff, the defendant sent messages including, “I did wrong, forgive me and come to work tomorrow,” and “Forgive me and give me a chance.”
The defendant, through his lawyer, sent the plaintiff, who had stopped working, two letters on December 30, 2022, and January 4, 2023, requesting a settlement. According to the complaint, the dentist offered to give the woman dental implants at an employee discount and then sexually assaulted her after giving her a high dose of sedation. As a result, the plaintiff did not receive the medical treatment she needed, the plaintiff alleges.
According to the letter, the dentist offered to waive the employee’s medical bills if she did not question his medical practices and pay her $20,000 upon signing a settlement agreement and offered an additional $5,000 per month for 36 months, on top of her salary, if she returned to work at the hospital.
In response to the Korea Daily’s inquiry about the letter, the defendant’s lawyer, Jiyoung Kim, stated, “I cannot disclose any details at this point.”
“The victim has been suffering from extreme mental and physical pain since the incident and has been receiving mental counseling,” said Jinni Kang, a lawyer for the plaintiff. “Requesting the victim to return to work under such circumstances is incomprehensible.”
Medical malpractice and lack of ethics among dentists and other healthcare professionals continue to be a controversial issue. This month, Paul Kim, 30, a pediatric dentist, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Atlanta for possession of child pornography. In 2021, a dentist in his 50s was accused of sexually assaulting female patients during anesthesia treatments in Koreatown, Los Angeles.
BY YEOL JANG, HOONSIK WOO [jang.yeol@koreadaily.com]
