Three nurses sent to prosecution over alleged abuse of newborn babies at Daegu hospital
Published: 29 Jul. 2025, 14:58
![A nurse for the Daegu Catholic University Medical Center holds up a baby with the caption ″I’m itching to let one fall″ in a social media post that began circulating on Apr. 1. [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/07/29/66807327-5b30-4ce4-80b3-21c790da2e49.jpg)
A nurse for the Daegu Catholic University Medical Center holds up a baby with the caption ″I’m itching to let one fall″ in a social media post that began circulating on Apr. 1. [SCREEN CAPTURE]
A total of three nurses have been referred to prosecutors without detention for allegedly abusing infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Daegu Catholic University Medical Center.
The Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency said Tuesday that three nurses were handed over for violating the Child Welfare Act and the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes.
One of the nurses is accused of repeatedly abusing multiple infants between October 2024 and March this year while working in the hospital’s NICU. She allegedly took photos of babies seated on her lap or held in her arms, then posted them on social media with captions like "I’m itching to let one fall,” suggesting a desire to cause them harm.
The investigation began after the parents of one of the children filed a complaint in April upon discovering the social media post. Police seized the nurse’s mobile phone and, based on the data recovered, found evidence implicating two other nurses as accomplices.
Authorities confirmed that the abuse took place in areas of the NICU not covered by closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.
![A nurse for the Daegu Catholic University Medical Center deriding a child for being loud in an instagram post. [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/07/29/a1376240-e241-4560-ba91-8aad3978182a.jpg)
A nurse for the Daegu Catholic University Medical Center deriding a child for being loud in an instagram post. [SCREEN CAPTURE]
Although police requested an arrest warrant for the main suspect, the court denied the request, citing that sufficient evidence had already been secured and that the nurse had complied with summonses.
“A total of five nurses were initially investigated, but charges were confirmed for only three,” a police official said. “The remaining two only left comments on the social media posts, which was not sufficient to constitute abuse.”
Following the revelation of the incident, Daegu Catholic University Medical Center dismissed the primary nurse and placed the other two on mandatory leave. The hospital also issued an official apology via a video posted on its YouTube channel.
“Once the investigation is finalized, we will review whether to impose further disciplinary action on the two nurses currently on leave,” a hospital spokesperson said.
Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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