[2026 Audit] Hospitals Demand 230,000 Won Prepayment for Consent to Operating Room CCTV Recording... Health Ministry: "No Fees Allowed at Filming Stage"

Three years have passed since installing CCTV in operating rooms was mandated, but it has been verified that some medical institutions require patients to pay a prepayment of around 200,000 won at the stage of consenting to filming before surgery. The Ministry of Health and Welfare states that hospitals cannot request payment at the filming request stage nor refuse filming due to non-payment.

Operating room.

According to data received by Assemblyman Heo Jong-sik of the Democratic Party of Korea from the Ministry of Health and Welfare on October 7, if a patient or guardian requests filming in the operating room, medical institutions are required by law to record the surgical scene unless there are legal exceptions. The Ministry's guidelines specify that fees can be charged for "viewing and similar actions," but filming or storage requests are not included in this category, confirming there is no legal basis to charge fees at the filming request stage.

However, cases have been confirmed on online communities where patients were asked by hospitals to prepay 230,000 won while signing the consent form for operating room CCTV filming before surgery.

Viewing such video is also strictly regulated by law. Viewing is allowed only if requested by relevant authorities for criminal investigations or trials, by the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency for adjustment/arbitration purposes, or if all recorded individuals consent. Unless an extension is specifically requested, the footage may be deleted after 30 days.

Therefore, even if patients paid in advance at the filming stage, they may end up being unable to view the footage if the legal requirements for official viewing are not met.

The cost standard is also problematic. Currently, there is no fixed upper limit for the cost of viewing operating room CCTV footage. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare's guideline based on the Enforcement Rules of the Information Disclosure Act, the fee for viewing four hours’ worth of footage is around 12,000 won. The 230,000 won fee is approximately 19 times higher than this standard. Compared to the official upper limit of 20,000 won for copying medical record video DVDs, it is 11.5 times more expensive.

The oversight by the Ministry of Health and Welfare has also come under scrutiny. When Assemblyman Heo inquired about the operating room CCTV fee charging status at medical institutions nationwide, the Ministry responded that it did not possess such data. Local governments reported there were no violations, but in reality, the Ministry is not monitoring the fee-charging practices at all.

As of the end of June this year, 2,528 out of 2,529 medical institutions required to have CCTV in their operating rooms had completed installation, excluding one currently closed. However, there is no obligation to individually inform patients of their right to request CCTV filming prior to surgery, raising the need for improvement in the system.

Assemblyman Heo Jong-sik stated, "Although virtually 100% of operating rooms are now equipped with CCTV, requiring patients to pay over 200,000 won upfront at the consent stage may discourage them from exercising their right to request filming." He added, "Since the Ministry of Health and Welfare confirmed that requesting payment at the filming stage is not permitted, the ministry must scrutinize real practices at hospitals." He went on to say, "Mandatory individual notice of the right to request CCTV filming prior to surgery and clear upper limits for video viewing fees must also be established."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.