Videos from Korean clinics, treatment rooms found on overseas porn sites
A lawmaker has urged an investigation after 80 apparent hospital CCTV videos, including footage of patients receiving treatment, surfaced on overseas pornographic websites.
Footage from inside a Korean medicine clinic and a rehabilitation medicine facility posted on an overseas website, provided by Rep. Heo Jong-sik.REP. HEO JONG-SIK'S OFFICE
CCTV footage apparently filmed inside Korean hospitals has been found on overseas pornographic websites, according to a lawmaker on Wednesday.
Rep. Heo Jong-sik of the ruling Democratic Party identified 80 leaked videos believed to have been filmed at Korean medical facilities and asked the Korean National Police Agency to investigate.
The footage came from internal CCTV systems at obstetrics and gynecology clinics, plastic surgery clinics, Korean medicine clinics and rehabilitation medicine facilities. Some videos showed patients receiving medical treatment or changing clothes.
A comparison of business names visible in the footage with the interiors of the medical facilities found that 21 videos came from one obstetrics and gynecology clinic in Seoul, Heo’s office said.
The footage had been edited to follow patients as they moved through the waiting room, consultation room, ultrasound room and examination room. Some videos showed medical procedures as well as patients’ faces and bodies.
Footage from other hospitals showed patients receiving injections, changing into hospital gowns in their rooms or undergoing consultations and procedures at plastic surgery clinics. Videos of acupuncture treatment at Korean traditional medicine clinics and manual therapy at rehabilitation medicine facilities were also circulating online.
Hospitals for plastic surgery and dermatology clinic are seen in an undated photo.JOONGANG ILBO
The dates displayed on the footage ranged from February 2022 to November 2025.
The current Medical Service Act requires medical institutions that perform surgery on unconscious patients, including operations under general anesthesia, to install CCTV cameras in operating rooms. Medical institutions must also take security measures to prevent leaks, such as setting passwords, managing access logs and restricting access privileges.
CCTV cameras had been installed at 2,528 of the 2,529 medical institutions subject to the requirement as of the end of June. The one remaining facility was temporarily closed.
The government, however, has not identified any previous leaks involving CCTV footage from medical institutions.
A total of 109 cybersecurity incidents at medical institutions were reported to the government from 2021 through August 2026, according to data submitted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to Rep. Heo’s office. The cases included 106 incidents at private institutions and three at public institutions. Ransomware accounted for 98 of them.
None involved CCTV footage.
Authorities have yet to determine how the footage found on the overseas porn sites was leaked.
The photo shows plastic surgery and dermatology clinics in Seoul on Jan. 28, 2024.YONHAP
“The leaked footage was not filmed in operating rooms but in examination rooms, consultation rooms, waiting rooms and hospital rooms that are not covered by CCTV management rules under the Medical Service Act,” Heo said. “Authorities need to inspect where CCTV cameras are installed at medical institutions, as well as how footage is stored and access is managed.”
The lawmaker called for follow-up measures.
“The Health Ministry should conduct a comprehensive inspection of CCTV security at medical institutions and work with relevant agencies to determine how the footage was leaked,” Heo said. “It should also protect victims by having the videos removed and preventing them from being redistributed.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
