Esther Mun

Police Statement - 8/6/26 June 15, 2026: 11am - 5pm.

My mom and I went in for a dental implant consultation at 똑똑플란트치과  in Gangnam. When we walked in, there were a lot of elderly patients sitting in the waiting area: So much so that every seat was taken in that large space and the elderly had to stand around. We took our x-rays pretty promptly and were instructed to wait to speak to a financial consultant.

During the consultation, everything went smoothly and the financial consultant detailed how much the procedures would be for both me and my mom and the details about the whole implant process: We would only have to visit the clinic 3 times. Once for stitch removal, implant preferencing, and actual implanting. They also detailed how the implants could be made however we liked: shape and color. It’s important to note that for my procedure, I was extracting my upper four front teeth as a 23 year old woman and the dentures they were providing me to wear for the next two months had to at least match my teeth color, which they ensured would be the case.

We had another consultation for the same procedure at another clinic, but because the pricing was fair at 똑똑 and the consultant made it seem like a perfect and seamless place, we decided to pay our dues and select this clinic.

Once we signed and paid, we were instructed to wait in the crowded waiting area for an undetermined time without any details on what we were waiting for. During that time, I saw the first out of many patients grow exhausted of the long wait times with uncertain next-steps and once he started raising his voice, a security guard took him away. Of course because of my lack of experience with how this clinic treats their patients, I thought the guy was a lunatic. After around 30 minutes, we were then called in for dental extraction with our selective doctors.

When I went into the surgery room, I was instructed to lay on their chair and an assistant immediately covered my entire face with a green cloth, exposing only my mouth. The doctor then came in and was asking me a question in Korean that I couldn’t understand so when he asked, “Do you understand”, in a very harsh, elevated, and frustrated tone he told the assistants to make me understand and left. The assistant uncovered my face and pulled out Google Translate to tell me that because my bones were too frail that they might have to inject bone cement in with the implant which would cost extra. This kind of information should have been discussed during the financial consultation but was failed to be mentioned. I had no other choice because they said that the implant could not be fully secured otherwise. After I acknowledged that, the assistant covered my face again and later the doctor came in and began the extraction. You could tell by his demeanor and technique that he wasn’t concerned about making the procedure comfortable or painless at all. After he was done using a tool, he would throw it on my chest and when he needed it again, would pick it up off my chest.

After a very painful and stress-inducing procedure, the doctor left before my face was uncovered, so I never got to even see the person who extracted my teeth.

We were then instructed to wait for 4 hours inside the clinic for my dentures to be done so that I could take them home and wait for the next visit. They did not let us leave because they could call us before, so after that extreme procedure, we had to sit and wait in the crowded clinic in pain unsure ofwhen we would be called on. After four hours I asked an employee that I waited the entire duration and still haven't received my dentures, to which they went in the back and told me the dentures were ready and I would just have to wait for someone to call me to pick them up.

I was instructed not to put the dentures on for at least 2-3 days to let my mouth heal, so I just agreed and left. My mom and I had an entire day's plan of traveling around Seoul that day, but because of the extensive time we were forced to stay at the clinic and the mental exhaustion of constantly waiting on something unknown, we just took a bus back to Wonju.

June 19, 2026

I tried to put my dentures on as I have been working everyday without my four front teeth, but it was way too painful to put on. I also noticed the teeth were comically larger than my other teeth and eye-catchingly stained yellow. The clinic told me that they would alter the dentures to make them fit in our next appointment in a week and a half when we were supposed to get our stitches removed. I went that entire duration without teeth while working everyday.

June 29, 2026: 11am - 5:00pm

We had an appointment at 11am. We checked in and waited an entire hour before we went up to the receptionist asking why we haven’t been called yet for stitch removal. She tells us to keep waiting and my mom gets called a little after for her removal. I then waited to be called for another 30 minutes and my mom had completed her removal at this point and was waiting with me. We watched another elderly man get up and express his distress with how the clinic is run and how he has things to do and how he can’t spend his entire day at this clinic. He was then escorted out while being recorded by a receptionist. We then go up to the receptionist and ask why I still haven’t been called in for my stitch removal and she tells us that a patient with my same doctor that had a 9am appointment just went in at 1pm and she couldn’t tell me when I would be called in. My mom went back and forth with her telling her we haven’t even eaten today and to at least give us a ball park range so that we can leave and eat and come back. They said they can ensure I get called at around 3:20pm.

We leave and go to eat. While eating, my mom says that she feels like she still has a stitch in and that she thinks they missed one. We shop a little and come back to the clinic. I’m called in after waiting for a little bit and they remove my stitches and shave down my dentures so they actually go on my teeth. The dentures fit horribly: They were crooked, misaligned, and yellow. During this time my mom tells them she still has a stitch they failed to remove and she's told to wait for someone to extract her stitches again.

I was frustrated and unsatisfied with my dentures as I have to wear them for the next two months so I brought it up to the workers and they told me to wait as they would let me talk to the doctor about my concerns. I get called in to talk to the doctor and as he's inspecting my teeth, he removes a stitch that the initial removers didn’t get and just tells them to make me another denture that is white. I’m then instructed to wait again to be called in. At this point everyone around my waiting area was