It has been confirmed that numerous medical treatment and changing room videos of patients filmed at domestic hospitals are being widely distributed on overseas adult websites, prompting a police investigation.

Around 80 such videos have been distributed, with 21 of them filmed at a single obstetrics and gynecology clinic in Seoul.

The National Police Agency recently received a request for investigation regarding the suspected hacking and leakage of medical institution CCTV footage from Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Huh Jong-sik, and assigned the case to the North Chungcheong Provincial Police Agency.

An investigation by Lawmaker Huh's office into the leakage of medical institution CCTV footage revealed that about 80 videos filmed at domestic obstetrics and gynecology clinics, plastic surgery clinics, and rehabilitation medicine departments are being circulated on overseas adult websites.

Reports indicate that the leaked footage even captures patients receiving medical examinations or changing clothes at these clinics.

Most of the leaked videos are presumed to have been recorded using IP cameras connected to the internet.

IP cameras can transmit recorded video in real-time to other devices via wired and wireless networks, and have long been criticized for being vulnerable to security issues such as hacking.

Four suspects accused of initially hacking medical institution footage and distributing and selling it on illegal websites were already apprehended by the police last year (2025).

However, as the videos uploaded by these individuals have been re-distributed across other overseas sites, the police plan to launch investigations into the uploaders who re-distributed the footage as well.

"With videos of people receiving medical treatment and changing clothes circulating online, how can the public feel safe going to a hospital?" lawmaker Huh Jong-sik said, urging a thorough investigation through international cooperation.

Previously, the installation and operation of CCTV cameras in hospital operating rooms where patients are unconscious due to anesthesia or other reasons became mandatory in South Korea starting in September 2023.

Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Lee Eui-seon | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News