On 10/6, a recycling sorting center in Incheon, west of Seoul, reported to police after discovering a human leg among waste bags.

Shortly after, a hospital in Incheon informed police that the body part might be medical waste from their facility.

Investigators requested the National Forensic Service (NFS) to conduct an emergency DNA analysis to confirm if the body part belonged to any patient at the hospital.

Since its discovery, a task force of 102 police officers has been tracing its disposal route.

On 19/6, police identified the leg as belonging to an 80-year-old patient from a nursing home in the city, who had undergone an amputation surgery on 8/6.

According to the hospital, the leg was bandaged and placed in a medical waste container, but a hospital volunteer mistakenly identified it as a plaster cast and disposed of it in a recycling bin.

Police stated they are investigating possible violations of medical law concerning the hospital's handling and management of medical waste.

The recycling facility in Incheon where the human leg was found. Photo: Yonhap

According to South Korea's Waste Management Act, human body parts, human tissues, and amputated body parts are classified as medical waste requiring special management.

Amputated body parts such as legs, arms, and necrotic tissue after surgery are typically classified as pathological waste.

This type of waste must be placed in specialized, officially certified and labeled containers, stored and transported by licensed entities, and incinerated at specialized medical waste treatment facilities.

By Hai Thu (According to Yonhap, Law Gov Korea)