Passage of Operating Room CCTV Law in National Assembly Subcommittee... Korean Medical Association Says "Medical Regression, Will File Constitutional Appeal"

"Avoidance Tendencies in Life-Threatening Situations Will Spread"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] On the 23rd, regarding the passage of the Medical Service Act amendment mandating the installation of CCTV in operating rooms at the subcommittee of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, the Korean Medical Association stated, "We will make every effort to block the implementation of the bill, including filing a constitutional complaint."

In a statement released that day, the KMA said, "Not only in Korea but also the international medical community, including the World Medical Association, has pointed out that such attempts are extremely inappropriate measures that violate patients' health, safety, and personal dignity," adding, "This bill denies the autonomous development and improvement intentions of expert groups and is merely the result of a distorted perception that political power must directly purify and control each specialized area of society. Ultimately, it does not align with the value of patient safety that medical care should pursue."

The KMA criticized, "We are concerned that the best medical care, performed with good faith under a forced surveillance environment due to the enforcement of this bill, could be threatened," and said, "It means placing all doctors who fight desperately to save patients' lives under surveillance and making every one of their actions subject to judgment."

They continued, "It is evident that this will further spread the tendency to avoid dangerous situations where patients' lives are at stake in the medical environment," and pointed out, "The current bill's proponents deny the potential serious risks inherent in this bill by dismissing the possibility of personal rights violations through information leakage, human rights violations against medical workers under surveillance, and the fostering of distrust between patients and doctors, which are important values in a democratic society."

Furthermore, they stated, "We reiterate that mandating CCTV installation in operating rooms is a flawed bill that goes against public health and safety and patient protection, and regresses medical care," and added, "If this flawed bill is ultimately passed, we will clearly expose the unconstitutionality of the current bill, which seriously infringes on individual fundamental rights, and make every effort to firmly block its implementation, including filing a constitutional complaint."

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