The doctor who performed a lipoma removal procedure on actress Han Ye-seul apologized for the botched operation in an interview uploaded to YouTube, Saturday.

Dr. Lee Ji-hyun of the Cha Medical Center in Gangnam admitted to damaging skin from the inside while he was removing the lipoma.

A lipoma is a noncancerous tumor of fat tissue beneath the skin.

“It’s easier to remove the tumor if surgery is done right around the lipoma. But considering that she is an actress, I suggested removing it from below, (so) she could cover up the scar with clothing,” said Lee. The mistake happened as the electric knife cut through the skin from below, while he was stripping and exfoliating the lipoma, according to Lee.

Lee also clarified that he did not graft skin tissues from other parts of Han‘s body or a donor, in response to recent suspicions.

Han has been transferred to a hospital that specializes in rehabilitation of burned skin to receive medical treatment and minimize her scar.

“I made a wrong decision, and I am very sorry. I would like to hereby apologize to Han Ye-seul once more,” Lee said.

The Cha Medical Center had said in a statement issued Saturday that it would compensate the actress for the medical malpractice.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)