The family of the late Baek Nam-gi has officially requested Seoul National University Hospital to correct the death certificate. The police announced, "We will conduct the autopsy by October 25, when the warrant expires." The conflicts surrounding the cause of death and the autopsy of Baek have intensified after Seoul National University Hospital announced that they would not reverse the cause of death stated on the certificate despite that it was not recorded according to guidelines on October 3. The doctor in charge of Baek had written the cause of his death as "disease."

Baek's Death Certificate: On the afternoon of October 4, attorney Jo Yeong-seon, the legal representative of the bereaved family of Baek Nam-gi holds and displays Baek's death certificate in front of the funeral home at Seoul National University Hospital. Yonhap News

Baek's family held a press conference at the Seoul National University Hospital funeral home in Yeongeon-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul on October 4 and announced, "We request Seoul National University Hospital for an interview and ask that they revise the death certificate." Jo Yeong-seon, the legal representative of the family said, "The explanation given by Seoul National University Hospital that they cannot revise the death certificate, because the doctor in charge has full discretion over the issuance of the certificate, despite that the doctor had violated the guidelines is the same as saying that the test answer that the student submitted does not meet the guidelines but will be marked correct."

The family also asked the Prosecutors' Office to release the contents of the autopsy warrant, in order to guarantee the basic rights in the legal procedure. However, the Prosecutors' Office refused their request, and the family has currently submitted a request for the disclosure of information at the Jongno Police Station. Yi Jeong-il, another attorney for the family, said, "The legal representative needs to first check the contents of the autopsy warrant to provide any legal advice. If the police respects the court's decision, when they called for sufficient consultation with the family concerning the autopsy, they have an obligation to disclose the contents of the warrant." A police official said, "We are currently reviewing whether to disclose, partially disclose, or to refuse to disclose the warrant."

October 4 was the deadline that the police had notified the family to gather a group of representatives to discuss the execution of the autopsy warrant. The bereaved family and a group organizing the struggle for Baek refused to answer the police request this day. Jeong Hyeon-chan, the co-leader of the group said, "We cannot respond to negotiations carried out on condition of the autopsy and we cannot gather a group to represent the family in the negotiations. Now that Seoul National University Hospital has reconfirmed the cause of death as ‘disease,’ we can no longer put our trust in the situation."

During the parliamentary inspection at the Safety Administration Committee at the National Assembly, Kim Jung-hoon, the commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, said, "The autopsy warrant will be executed before October 25 (expiration date of the warrant)," and added, "We will continue to consult the bereaved family." Earlier the court had stated the deadline for the execution of the warrant as October 25, when issuing the warrant on condition that the authorities discuss the details such as the location and the medical examiner with the family after denying the warrant the first time. When the Minjoo Party of Korea lawmaker Baek Jae-hyun said, "I hope that it will not be executed by force," Kim said, "I understand," and avoided giving an immediate answer on whether the police would execute the warrant by force.

The previous day, the majority of the Seoul National University's special investigation committee agreed that the cause of death should be recorded as "external causes," but it was disclosed that the doctor in charge, Professor Paek Sun-ha (neurosurgery) had refused. The committee's chairman, Lee Yoon-seong, professor of forensic science at Seoul National University College of Medicine said in an interview with CBS Radio this day, "We explained to and debated with Professor Paek that the cause of death was recorded incorrectly according to the guidelines, but he refused to accept our views. If I were to receive brain surgery, I would have Paek do the surgery, but I will not have Paek write my death certificate."
The president of the National Health Insurance Service, who had served as the president of Seoul National University Hospital, and the president of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, who was formerly the dean of the Graduate School of Public Health at Yonsei University, appeared before the lawmakers this day and shared their views that the farmer Baek Nam-gi died from external causes. Seong Sang-cheol, president of the National Health Insurance Service appeared before the Health and Welfare Committee and said, "Based on a number of objective observations such as the circumstances and the press coverage, it seems natural to deem the death was caused by external causes." Sohn Myong-sei, the president of the assessment service also said, "Currently, the cause of the death of farmer Baek Nam-gi appears to be external causes. I think external causes is correct," but added, "However if the doctor in charge is making such an argument, I think it would be very difficult to change that."