Lemon Healthcare, the developer and operator of a mobile application used by major university hospitals nationwide, issued an official apology after the Sewol ferry disaster date appeared as an example for entering a date of birth. The company said it bears full responsibility for writing and managing the problematic text and noted that the hospitals that adopted the service were not involved in the process.
On the 14th, Lemon Healthcare said in a statement, "We deeply hurt the bereaved families who lost loved ones in the Sewol ferry disaster and the public," adding, "We know it is hard to ask for forgiveness with any words. We sincerely apologize."
It was found that the controversial text had been inserted on the family registration screen within the proxy payment service for medical bills in Lemon Healthcare's patient app "Lemon Care," which it develops and operates.
The company explained that the text was first written early in the app's development and was repeatedly used without separate verification even during screen redesigns.
Lemon Healthcare said, "Our investigation found that the text was first written during a past app development phase and was reused as-is without separate verification despite several screen redesigns," adding, "However, we are still checking the circumstances of its initial creation."
The company also emphasized that the hospitals had no responsibility for writing or reviewing the text. Lemon Healthcare said, "Writing and managing the text on the patient app screens is entirely within Lemon Healthcare's remit, and the hospitals were not involved," adding, "This incident has caused great offense not only to patients and guardians but also to customers at major general hospitals nationwide that adopted the service."
Lemon Healthcare said it corrected the text in all hospital apps that adopted the service as soon as it became aware of the controversy. It also decided to conduct a full inspection of all text included in the entire service screens and source code, including the patient app.
The company said, "As soon as we recognized the issue, we corrected the text in all customer hospital apps," adding, "We will conduct a full audit of screen text and source code text across all services, including the patient app."
Although the staff in charge when the text was written have since left the company, it also said it would not shift the blame to individuals. Lemon Healthcare emphasized, "The personnel who first wrote and reviewed the text are no longer employed," adding, "Even so, we will not attribute the responsibility to any specific individual. Final responsibility lies with the CEO, and the CEO will personally oversee the establishment and implementation of measures to prevent a recurrence."
Lemon Healthcare said, "We will take this as the most serious warning since our founding," adding, "We will become a company that looks to people's hearts first, before technology."