Seomin to Lee Jae-myung, who supports 'Operating Room CCTV': "Populism should be moderate... If you don't know well, just stay quiet"

Professor Seo Min from Dankook University College of Medicine appeared as a witness at the confirmation hearing for Kim Oh-soo, the nominee for Prosecutor General, held by the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the afternoon of the 26th of last month.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Choyoung] Professor Seomin from Dankook University College of Medicine criticized Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung on the 17th, who advocates for the introduction of closed-circuit television (CCTV) in operating rooms, saying, "Populism is fine, but do it in moderation," and added, "If you don't know well, staying put is also an option."

In a post on his blog that day, Professor Seo stated, "A proper politician should sometimes stand against public opinion and assert their own views, but it is hard to find such a stance in Governor Lee."

Professor Seo pointed out, "I don't know how meaningful '80% of the public approval' is on a specialized issue like operating room CCTV," and criticized, "It is just a sigh to see ignorant legislation pushing Korean healthcare toward collapse and being used as a means to attack the new party leader."

Earlier, Governor Lee targeted Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, who expressed caution about the related bill, saying, "80% of the public wants the installation of operating room CCTV," and added, "There is no difference from the previous image of the People Power Party, which has represented the elite vested interests."

Regarding Governor Lee's comparison of operating room CCTV to a black box, Professor Seo said, "Is a black box, which a driver installs to avoid unfair situations, in the same context as CCTV that monitors medical practices? This is truly typical of Governor Lee."

He continued, "Leader Lee Jun-seok says he wants to listen to the medical community, but Lee Jae-myung has no such intention," and pointed out, "In 'Lee Jae-myung World,' this world is a battle between a wicked minority vested interest group and the good public, and doctors opposing CCTV are merely desperately trying to protect their vested interests."

Professor Seo explained that if CCTV is installed in operating rooms, problems such as "unnecessary litigation proliferation," "impossibility of resident training," and "personal information leakage" could occur.

He added, "The only reasonable argument is that 'CCTV prevents proxy surgeries and sexual harassment,'" but said, "If you want to prevent these two crimes, you can create a law that permanently revokes a doctor's license upon detection of proxy surgery or sexual harassment. I don't understand why a bill like operating room CCTV, which has far more disadvantages than advantages, is being proposed."

Finally, Professor Seo emphasized, "Even if there are many drawbacks, if there is a benefit that outweighs them, installing CCTV is worth trying, but I cannot find such an advantage," and stressed, "It can be reduced through a one-strike-out system or whistleblower rewards, and the reason no OECD country has installed CCTV in operating rooms is precisely because of this."