Who Holds the Record by SuperTruth: back to the indexWho Holds the Record · country brief · data as of 2026-10-02

Who holds the health record in South Korea?

In 2026, South Korea scores 60 of 100 on a person's right to see, control and share their own health record: rank 23= of 65 countries, in the Mixed band (45 to 64). Who holds the keys: Shared. Source: Who Holds the Record, SuperTruth, data as of 2026-10-02.

The person has real controls inside a state or provider system. Its strongest right against the other countries is clinical AI governance (66, against a median of 50 across 65 countries); no right falls below the median, and the closest to it is connected care journey (62, median 62).

Koreans can copy their whole record and see 10 years of claims online, and clinical records move only with opt-in consent.

Published · updated · data as of 2026-10-02 · research tool, not legal advice

60overall, of 100 · Mixed
23=rank of 65
Sharedwho holds the keys
highconfidence
82 · Goldevidence grade (DTI)

Can I get my health records in South Korea?

Access to the full record scores 66 of 100 in South Korea, against a median of 62 across 65 countries. The Medical Service Act lets patients view or copy their whole record, though copies carry a fee and we found no deadline. Since May 2026 NHIS lets every insured person view and download up to 10 years of claims-based treatment history online.

Can I control who sees my health record in South Korea?

Control and consent scores 55 of 100 in South Korea, against a median of 52 across 65 countries. Records move between hospitals, or to apps and firms, only with the patient's opt-in consent, chosen by institution, item and period and revocable. We found no way for patients to see who opened their chart, which holds control at the top of the 40 to 55 band.

Eight rights, against Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and the EU

Patient access to the full record20%6662 · 68 · 62
Patient control and consent20%5558 · 52 · 62
Privacy and security15%6562 · 50 · 58
Connected care journey15%6264 · 72 · 48
Protection from commercial use10%5562 · 62 · 50
Clinician access at the point of care10%5868 · 78 · 52
Research and trial consent5%5050 · 66 · 50
Clinical AI governance5%6662 · 58 · 60

Black dot: South Korea. Hollow dots: Singapore, Taiwan, Japan (scores on the right, same order). Grey line: median of all 65 countries. Dashed teal line: EU median. Overall: South Korea 60, EU median 61. Scores move in steps of about 5; gaps of 4 or less are ties.

What would South Korea need to change to score higher?

South Korea sits in Mixed (45 to 64); Strong starts at 65. The two rights furthest below the 65-country median, weighted, are connected care journey (62, median 62) and protection from commercial use (55, median 55). The published rubric reads:

  • Connected care journey: Primary care, hospitals, labs, pharmacy, claims and public health linked to one record and used at national scale.
  • Protection from commercial use: Clear limits on selling health data or using it for marketing, covering apps and data brokers as well as providers.

Which laws give health record rights in South Korea?

  • Medical Service Act (2024 amendment; Articles 21, 21-2, 21-3, 88) (2024): Right to view and copy records, consent-based transfer between providers, criminal penalty for unlawful disclosure.
  • Personal Information Protection Act (2026 amendment) (2026): Separate consent for health data, consent-free pseudonymised research, data transfer right, fines up to 10% of revenue.
  • Digital Medical Products Act (2024): Dedicated law for digital and AI medical devices with change approval, real-world evaluation and certification; in force 2025.

Strain and split context, not scored

Doctors per 10,000
26.6 2023 · OECD 34 of 38
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
98.0 2024 · OECD 19 of 38
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
40.0% 2023 · OECD 4 of 35
Record reaches private care?
partial

Compulsory private insurance, counted separately: 1.4% of health spending (2023).

"보건복지부는 진료정보교류 사업에 참여하는 의료기관이 1만332곳으로, 사업 시작 후 처음으로 1만곳을 돌파했다고 12일 밝혔다."

Published stories

  • 2025-03-19 · National Human Rights Commission of Korea Rights commission finds a hospital routinely wrote false entries in a patient's record
  • 2026-09-14 · Hankyung (Korea Economic Daily) Doctor took thousands of patients' details; hospital fined for late notice, not the leak

Compare South Korea

Cite this brief

In 2026, South Korea scored 60 of 100 on a person's right to see, control and share their own health record, rank 23= of 65 countries (Mixed; who holds the keys: Shared). Source: Who Holds the Record, SuperTruth, data as of 2026-10-02, https://whoholds.supertruth.ai/brief/KOR/

Sources for South Korea (20)

SuperTruth Inc. · 24 S. 24th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA · +1 215 918 4140 · supertruth.ai
Questions, corrections or a briefing: supertruth.ai/on-the-record#contact · Full index: whoholds.supertruth.ai
OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (38 mostly high-income countries). DTI: SuperTruth's Data Trust Index, grading the evidence behind each score. Everything here comes from public information: laws, government and regulator pages, court decisions, published news, WHO, OECD and World Bank data. Full sources: https://whoholds.supertruth.ai/brief/KOR/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Text and scores CC BY 4.0.