Police Investigate Alleged Leak of OB-GYN CCTV Footage, Including Patient Changing Scenes

Police have launched an investigation following allegations that closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from operating rooms at hospitals in South Korea, including obstetrics and gynecology clinics, has been distributed on illegal overseas websites.

According to the National Police Agency on October 6, police received a request for an investigation from Representative Huh Jong-sic of the Democratic Party of Korea on September 29 regarding the suspected hacking and leakage of medical institution CCTV footage.

The National Police Agency assigned the case to the North Chungcheong Provincial Police Agency.

Four suspects accused of initially hacking the videos and distributing and selling them on illegal websites were apprehended by police last year.

At the time, police requested access blocks for specific websites containing numerous illegally filmed videos, including the footage in question, and took measures to protect the victims.

However, as the videos were re-posted on other websites following the arrest of the initial distributors, police plan to investigate those who re-redistributed the content.

The majority of the leaked medical institution videos are presumed to have been captured by Internet Protocol (IP) cameras.

While IP cameras are classified as a type of CCTV equipment, unlike conventional CCTV systems, they are connected to wired and wireless networks, allowing them to transmit recorded footage to other devices in real time.

Consequently, criticisms regarding the vulnerability of IP cameras to security breaches have persisted.

According to Representative Huh Jong-sic's office, an investigation into the leakage of medical institution CCTV footage revealed that 80 videos showing medical examinations and patients changing clothes inside South Korean medical facilities—such as obstetrics and gynecology clinics, plastic surgery clinics, Korean medicine clinics, and rehabilitation medicine departments—are being circulated on overseas adult websites.

Among them, 21 videos alone are related to a single obstetrics and gynecology clinic in Seoul, according to Representative Huh's office.

Representative Huh urged a thorough investigation through international cooperation, stating, "With footage of people receiving medical treatment and changing clothes circulating, how can the public feel safe going to a hospital?"

Previously, following an amendment to the Medical Service Act in September 2023, the installation and operation of CCTV inside operating rooms of medical institutions performing surgeries on patients unconscious due to anesthesia became mandatory.

(Photo provided by the office of Representative Huh Jong-sic of the Democratic Party of Korea, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.