A medicolegal autopsy is usually performed to determine the cause and manner of death based on judicial or administrative directives applicable in cases of unusual deaths. Social interest in medicolegal autopsies is increasing in recent times. In this study, we investigated medicolegal autopsy rates in Korea and compared these with rates reported by other countries. We obtained data regarding autopsies performed between 2016 and 2020 from the relevant institutions. We calculated the autopsy rate using mortality data from Statistics Korea. The number of medicolegal autopsies performed increased from 8,382 in 2016 to 9,308 in 2020, with an annual increase in numbers. The medicolegal autopsy rate of total deaths increased from 2.98% in 2016 to 3.05% in 2020, and the medicolegal autopsy rates of unusual deaths increased from 12.45% to 13.12% during the same period. However, it repeated an increase and a decrease by year during the study period. In conclusion, the numbers of medicolegal autopsies performed in Korea have been increasing since 2016; however, the medicolegal autopsy rate has been maintained.

Despite the high mortality rate associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), no clinical autopsy has been reported among the deceased during the pandemic by the Korean quarantine authorities. Notably, since 2020, forensic autopsies are performed in suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection. The first case of death secondary to COVID-19 pneumonia in Korea was reported in November 2021. We recently performed a forensic autopsy of a couple (85-year-old man and 81-year-old woman) who were discovered dead at home. Gross examination showed lobar consolidation of lungs, and microscopic evaluation revealed diffuse alveolar injury in the acute phase and thrombi in small arterioles; these findings were consistent with those reported by previous studies that have described COVID-19 pneumonia. Based on the aforementioned findings, we concluded that the couple died of COVID-19, and our study is the second Korean study to report these findings.

The number of migrant workers is increasing worldwide every year, and their number and role in Korean society is also increasing. However, the poor conditions faced by migrant workers often become a social issue, and it is not uncommon for them to be the subject of forensic autopsies. This study aimed to investigate the current status of medicolegal autopsy on migrant workers in Korea. We collected data of medicolegal autopsies on migrant workers conducted in Korea from 2016 to 2020 by requesting data from the institutions performing medicolegal autopsy. We calculated the autopsy rate and analyzed manner of death and cause of death. The medicolegal autopsy rate for foreign deaths was 16.4%, which was more than five times higher than the autopsy rate for Korean deaths. By manner of death, 43.7% were natural death, 6.4% were homicides, 8.5% were suicides, 23.6% were accidental deaths, 2.7% were undetermined unnatural deaths and 15.0% were unknown. These results showed a high rate of homicide, accidental death, and unknown death compared to Korean. And the proportion of industrial accident deaths and sudden manhood death syndrome were high. Through this study, it was confirmed that medicolegal autopsies are performed at a relatively high frequency when migrant workers die, and the characteristics related to the deaths of migrant workers were identified.