"Original CCTV Footage from Daycare Centers Easier for Guardians to Access"…Guideline Revision

Ministry of Health and Welfare and Personal Information Commission Revise Guidelines... Operate Dedicated CCTV Consultation Hotline

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] From now on, guardians who entrust their children to daycare centers will be able to view the original closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage at the daycare center without any additional cost.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare (Minister Kwon Deok-cheol) and the Personal Information Protection Commission (Chairman Yoon Jong-in) announced on the 2nd that they will jointly promote revisions to the related guidelines so that guardians of children suspected of child abuse can promptly view the original CCTV footage at the daycare center and take necessary measures.

Until now, disputes have arisen between guardians requesting to view the original CCTV footage to accurately confirm child abuse and daycare centers allowing only mosaic-processed footage due to privacy concerns. In particular, there have been cases where daycare centers passed the cost of mosaic processing onto guardians or excessively processed the footage with mosaics, making fact verification impossible.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Personal Information Protection Commission plan to clarify the specific requirements and procedures for viewing daycare center CCTV original footage, as well as standards for protecting personal privacy, to prevent unnecessary disputes.

Additionally, starting from the 3rd, a dedicated counseling hotline for daycare center CCTV will be operated to prevent confusion among stakeholders and provide professional consultation for installation, operation, management, and viewing in accordance with the purpose of laws and systems. The counseling hotline will use the 'Daycare Center Use Inconvenience and Fraud Report Center main number (1670-2082, press ② for quick access)' line within the Korea Childcare Promotion Institute, and two dedicated counselors will be assigned.

Minister Kwon Deok-cheol of the Ministry of Health and Welfare said, "Through the revision of CCTV-related guidelines, we will clarify that viewing original footage is possible and minimize related disputes through the counseling hotline."

Chairman Yoon Jong-in of the Personal Information Protection Commission said, "In the future, besides daycare center cases, we will actively promote related system improvements to allow CCTV footage viewing for those with legitimate interests, such as victims of incidents and accidents, while minimizing privacy infringement concerns."