Lee Jae-myung: "Let's Legally Mandate the Installation of CCTV in Operating Rooms"

Governor Lee sent letters to 300 National Assembly members on the 18th
"Urging support for installing CCTV in medical institution operating rooms"

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, requested the National Assembly to promptly legislate the installation of CCTV in operating rooms, stating that it is a necessary measure to protect not only patients but also medical personnel.

On the 29th, at the 'Legislative Support Meeting for Mandatory Installation of CCTV in Medical Institution Operating Rooms' held in the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Situation Room, Governor Lee said, "The CCTV in operating rooms is not intended to sanction anyone, but it serves to prevent troublesome situations for both patients and doctors through mutual trust and clear records," adding, "It is necessary for everyone, and I hope this matter (the bill), which everyone agrees on, will be swiftly processed in the National Assembly."

Governor Lee explained the efforts made so far, including the installation of CCTV in operating rooms at hospitals affiliated with Gyeonggi Medical Center and financial support for installing CCTV in private hospitals, then said, "There has been no significant progress. It is a difficult issue," emphasizing, "The remaining path is to enforce it through legislation. We must strive to ensure that the legislation desired by the public is enacted in the National Assembly."

The meeting was organized to support the passage of the Medical Service Act amendment bill, which was proposed on the 24th to mandate the installation of CCTV in operating rooms.

Among the attendees was Kim Kang-ryul, a family member of a medical accident victim, who stated, "While investigating the medical accident, I realized how necessary CCTV is. Without CCTV, it was impossible to even start a conversation with the other party," and argued for the necessity of legislation, saying, "There could be more families of secondary victims, so CCTV should be regarded as insurance for the victims' families."

Yoon Myung, Secretary-General of the Consumer Citizens' Association, said, "We must proceed with legislation to protect medical personnel as well. If the purpose is not clearly defined and the scope of use, methods, and management are not specified, it could be abused," emphasizing, "This is why we are trying to establish a law to mandate CCTV."

Governor Lee expressed strong agreement with Secretary-General Yoon's opinion, adding, "In fact, many medical personnel are unfairly suspected or attacked," and said, "Being transparent, taking responsibility where due, and clearing those without responsibility will help good medical personnel."

Regarding the objection that there are no such cases abroad, he dismissed it as "servility to foreign countries, not worth considering," and questioned, "Must we always act from behind?"

Gyeonggi Province was the first in the nation to install CCTV in the operating room of Anseong Hospital under Gyeonggi Medical Center in October 2018 and began pilot operation. As of May last year, CCTV has been installed and operated in the operating rooms of six hospitals under Gyeonggi Medical Center, including Suwon, Uijeongbu, Paju, Icheon, and Pocheon.

This year, the province publicly recruited participating medical institutions to encourage voluntary participation of private medical institutions by partially supporting the installation costs of operating room CCTV and recently completed the selection process.

On the 18th, Governor Lee sent a letter to all 300 members of the National Assembly requesting the legalization of the 'mandatory installation of CCTV in hospital operating rooms.'

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