Was “Hani’s Fiancé” Yang Jae-woong’s Apology Just for Show?

Broadcaster-psychiatrist Yang Jae-woong is under fire for what some are calling an insincere apology. On August 1st, a media outlet reported an interview with the family of the patient who passed away at the hospital where Yang Jae-woong is the director. According to the report, the mother of the deceased criticized Yang Jae-woong’s apology “Even that was just a show” and claimed that Yang Jae-woong had not contacted them since the apology was issued through his agency, sparking controversy.

The controversy began on May 27th, when a patient died of an intestinal obstruction at Yang Jae-woong’s hospital in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. It was reported that the hospital responded inadequately, administering sedatives to the patient who was isolated in a cramped private room and complaining of severe pain. The family of the deceased fought to bring attention to the situation through a national petition, YouTube videos and media reports. Eventually, two months later, on July 26th, a news broadcast aired CCTV footage from the time of the incident, drawing widespread attention.

Yang Jae-woong is a psychiatrist who became well-known as a “show doctor” through his appearances on various TV shows. He gained popularity with his medical analyses of relationship psychology on Channel A’s variety show “Heart Signal”. He also runs a YouTube channel called “YangBro’s Mental World” with his older brother Yang Jae-jin, who is also a psychiatrist. The channel boasts 660,000 subscribers.

Moreover, Yang Jae-woong is publicly dating EXID member-actress Hani (Ahn Hee-yeon). Despite the patient’s family’s efforts to publicize the incident, Yang Jae-woong continued his broadcasting activities and even announced his marriage to Hani, which led to a backlash against both him and Hani.

In the end, on July 29th, two days after the controversy erupted, Yang Jae-woong issued an apology through his agency Mystic Story. In the statement, Yang Jae-woong expressed his deep sorrow over the incident that occurred during the patient’s hospitalization, saying, “Both myself and the medical staff are heartbroken, and we sincerely apologize to the bereaved family who must be in deep sorrow after losing their loved one.”

He emphasized the seriousness of the situation and the ongoing investigation, adding, “Once again, I offer my deepest condolences and sympathy to the family.” Despite this, the lack of further apologies to the family, who continued to protest through one-man demonstrations, shocked many.

When contacted by OSEN regarding the situation, the hospital responded, “We have no comment to make on this matter.” Mystic Story has not issued any additional statements regarding the interview with the patient’s family.