Korea's CCTV Operating Room Law: Your Rights as a Patient

What Article 38-2 Actually Requires

수술실 CCTV 설치 의무화 (susulsil CCTV seolchi uimuhwa — mandatory installation of CCTV in operating rooms) is not a guideline or a recommendation. Under Article 38-2 of the Medical Practices Act (의료법), effective September 25, 2021, every medical institution in Korea must install CCTV cameras in its operating rooms.¹ There are no exemptions based on clinic size, specialty, or the nature of the procedure being performed.

The statute sets out four core obligations that apply to every covered institution:

Installation. Cameras must be physically present and operational in all operating rooms.¹ A clinic cannot argue that a particular room is exempt because it is used only for minor procedures.

Recording scope. The camera must capture the entirety of a surgical procedure — from the moment the patient enters the operating room to the moment they leave.¹ Gaps in recording are not permitted.

Consent before recording. The patient or their legal guardian must provide consent prior to recording beginning.² The medical institution cannot initiate recording without that consent, and equally cannot refuse to record when consent is given.²

Retention. Once recorded, footage must be held by the institution for a minimum of 30 days following the procedure.³ The institution is responsible for secure storage during that window.

The legislative background matters for understanding why these obligations are written so strictly. The amendment was enacted specifically to deter 대리수술 (daeri susul — ghost surgery), following high-profile cases in 2016 in which unlicensed or unauthorized persons performed procedures without the patient’s knowledge or consent.⁴ The law is, in effect, a structural deterrent: if every operating room has a camera running, unauthorized substitution of the operating surgeon becomes far harder to conceal.

Violations carry fines of up to ₩5 million, and repeat violations may result in license revocation.⁵ That enforcement structure means non-compliant clinics face consequences beyond the civil liability that might arise from a patient dispute.

Your Right to Request the Recording

The statute grants patients and their legal representatives a clear right of access to footage.⁶ The institution must provide it within 14 days of receiving a formal request.⁶ That right exists independently of whether a dispute has arisen — you do not need to allege wrongdoing to be entitled to your footage.

One practical clarification: because consent is required before recording begins,² confirming that consent in writing before your procedure creates documentation that you expected recording to take place. If the clinic later claims footage does not exist, that written record supports your position.

Steps to assert your right to the recording:

1. Confirm recording in writing before surgery. Send a brief message or email to the clinic — in Korean if possible, or request a translated confirmation — stating that you consent to CCTV recording of your procedure and expect it to occur. Keep a copy with a timestamp.

2. Note the procedure date. The 30-day retention window begins on the date of your surgery.³ Calculate the deadline and set a reminder. If any concern arises — about your results, your recovery, or the conduct of staff — do not wait until that deadline approaches.

3. Identify the correct contact at the clinic. Footage requests typically go to the clinic’s administrative or patient services department, not the surgeon. Ask before your procedure who handles medical records and CCTV requests.

4. Make your request in writing. Oral requests are harder to prove. A written request — email, registered letter, or a signed form — creates a record of the date you asked, which matters if the clinic delays or refuses.

5. Keep copies of all correspondence. If the matter escalates to K-MEDI (한국의료분쟁조정중재원, hanguk uiryo bunjaeng jojung jungjaewon — Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency) mediation, your documentation of the request and the clinic’s response will form part of the evidence file.

How to Get the Footage: The Formal Process

Submitting a footage request is a two-stage process: a direct request to the clinic first, then escalation through K-MEDI if the clinic does not cooperate. Most requests that are made promptly and in writing are fulfilled without needing the second stage.

Stage 1 — Direct request to the clinic:

1. Draft a written request. State your full name, the date of the procedure, the operating room or procedure room used (if known), and the specific footage you are requesting. Specify the format in which you would like to receive it (USB, secure download link, or CD). If you need Korean-language assistance, K-MEDI offers English-language support by telephone at +82-1670-2545.⁷

2. Submit by a traceable method. Registered mail or email with read-receipt gives you proof of delivery. If you submit in person, ask for a written acknowledgment with a date stamp.

3. Track the 14-day response window. The clinic is required by statute to provide footage within 14 days of receiving your request.⁶ Note that date. If 14 days pass without a response or the clinic denies the request, move to Stage 2.

Stage 2 — Escalation through K-MEDI:

4. File a mediation claim with K-MEDI. K-MEDI is the Korean government body responsible for mediating and arbitrating medical disputes between patients and healthcare providers.⁸ Filing is free for patients — K-MEDI absorbs mediation costs.⁹ International patients may file within 3 years of the date of the incident.¹⁰

5. Identify footage non-delivery as part of the dispute. Ghost surgery (daeri susul) is explicitly recognized as grounds for a mediation claim.¹¹ A clinic’s refusal to produce footage is itself a violation of the Medical Practices Act⁵ and strengthens the basis for K-MEDI involvement.

6. Allow approximately 90 days for mediation. The average mediation duration for standard cases is approximately 90 days from the date the application is accepted.¹² If both parties agree to arbitration, the decision is legally binding.¹³

What the Footage Can and Cannot Prove

CCTV footage from an operating room is a factual record, not an interpretation. Understanding its evidentiary value — and its limits — helps you assess whether requesting it is likely to advance a specific concern.

What footage can establish:

• Who was physically present in the operating room during your procedure. This is the central evidentiary use for ghost surgery cases: the footage shows the faces and conduct of everyone in the room, making it possible to verify whether the surgeon who consented you was the surgeon who operated.⁴
• Timeline and duration of your procedure. If a clinic billed for a two-hour operation but footage shows 40 minutes of activity, that discrepancy is documented.
• General conduct of staff — positioning, the handling of instruments, and observable deviations from standard practice that an expert reviewer could assess.
• Whether the operating room was prepared and maintained appropriately before and after the procedure.

What footage cannot establish on its own:

• Clinical judgment calls made during surgery. A camera records actions, not reasoning. An expert medical witness is still required to interpret whether a specific action was within or outside the standard of care.
• Events in rooms not covered by the statute — recovery rooms, consultation rooms, or any space that is not a designated operating room.¹
• Audio in all cases. The statute mandates video; audio recording requirements and practices vary. Do not assume the footage captures spoken instructions or conversations.
• Causation in a malpractice claim. Footage showing something went wrong does not automatically establish that the clinic is legally liable. Medico-legal causation analysis remains necessary.

Footage is most powerful when it is reviewed by a qualified medical expert alongside the operative notes and clinical records — not as a standalone document.

Limitations, Gaps, and What the Law Does Not Cover

Article 38-2 is a significant protection, but it has boundaries that every patient planning surgery in Korea should understand before relying on it.

The statute applies to operating rooms as legally defined. Procedures performed in rooms classified as treatment rooms or procedure rooms — rather than operating rooms — may not be covered by the same mandate.¹ Some clinics perform procedures under sedation in rooms that fall outside the operating room classification. Ask the clinic explicitly: “Will my procedure take place in a designated operating room covered by Article 38-2?”

The consent requirement cuts both ways. The institution cannot record without your consent, but it also cannot be required to record if consent was not given.² If you declined or did not address consent before the procedure, footage may not exist regardless of the 30-day window.

The 30-day retention minimum is exactly that — a minimum.³ Once 30 days have passed, a clinic that has not received a formal request has no statutory obligation to retain the footage. There is no mechanism to recover footage deleted after the legal retention window expires.

The law does not cover pre-operative or post-operative areas.¹ If an incident occurs in the recovery room, the consultation room, or during transfer between rooms, CCTV footage under this statute will not document it.

Checklist — gaps to address before your procedure:

• Confirm in writing that your procedure will take place in a designated operating room, not a treatment or procedure room
• Provide explicit written consent for CCTV recording before entering the operating room
• Record the exact date of your procedure and calculate the 30-day footage retention deadline
• Identify the clinic’s administrative contact for medical records and CCTV requests before surgery
• Save K-MEDI’s contact number (+82-1670-2545) before travel in case English-language support is needed⁷
• Do not assume recovery room or consultation room incidents are covered — they are not under this statute