Blue House, on 'Mandatory CCTV in Operating Rooms' Petition: "Considering... Actively Participating in Legislative Discussions"

Kang Do-tae, 2nd Vice Minister of Health and Welfare [Photo by Yonhap News]

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[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] The Blue House stated on the 13th that it is "in the process of careful consideration" regarding the national petition demanding the mandatory installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) in operating rooms following the death of a newborn during induced labor. It also said, "The government will actively participate in the legislative discussion process and make every effort to prevent patient harm and protect their rights."

Kang Do-tae, the 2nd Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, responded to the national petition titled "Report on Medical Accident Due to Forced Induced Labor" by saying, "The petition for installing CCTV in operating rooms is a matter with high public demand, as it has previously met the requirements for response several times and received replies." However, he added, "We cannot overlook other opinions raised by some, such as privacy infringement of patients and medical staff, and the possibility of defensive medical practice by healthcare professionals."

Vice Minister Kang expressed his sincere condolences to the petitioner who lost a child during the induced labor process, saying, "I extend my deepest sympathies to the bereaved family." He also stated, "This case is currently being thoroughly investigated by the Medical Investigation Team of the Metropolitan Investigation Unit at the Busan Police Agency. We expect the truth of the incident to be revealed through the investigation."

The petition, which called for fact-finding on the newborn death accident, punishment of medical staff, mandatory installation of CCTV in delivery rooms, neonatal rooms, and operating rooms, as well as a ban on medical practice by healthcare professionals involved in ongoing medical malpractice lawsuits, garnered the support of approximately 208,000 citizens.

Vice Minister Kang said, "Discussions related to delivery rooms and neonatal rooms are expected to naturally proceed alongside the legislative discussions for operating room CCTV." He added, "While CCTV footage recording medical procedures could potentially serve as evidence in future medical accident investigations, we will also consider that some mothers may be reluctant to have their delivery process recorded and will listen to various opinions."

However, regarding the demand to ban medical practice by healthcare professionals involved in ongoing medical malpractice lawsuits, he expressed a negative stance, stating, "If medical professionals are uniformly prohibited from practicing before the determination of guilt or innocence regarding professional negligence, there could be cases of unjust harm, and this could also violate the constitutional principle of presumption of innocence."

Nonetheless, concerning the amendment to the Medical Service Act that would allow the revocation of medical licenses for healthcare professionals sentenced to imprisonment or higher for all crimes, including professional negligence, he emphasized, "The government will actively participate in the legislative discussion process." He added, "To strengthen the social responsibility of medical professionals, we will promote institutional improvements such as expanding disqualification criteria by comprehensively considering fairness with other professions like lawyers and the occupational characteristics of medical professionals who directly handle patients' bodies."

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