Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's 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 198 countries (likely range 8 to 38), in the Mixed band (45 to 64). Who holds the keys: Shared. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's 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 30 across 198 countries); no right falls below the median, and the closest to it is research and trial consent (50, median 46).
Koreans can copy their whole record and see 10 years of claims online, and clinical records move only with opt-in consent.
Published · updated · this country's data as of 2026-10-02 · research tool, not legal advice
60overall, of 100 · Mixed
23=rank of 198
Sharedwho holds the keys
highconfidence
91 · Platinumevidence 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 43 across 198 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 30 across 198 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%
66
62 · 68 · 62
Patient control and consent20%
55
58 · 52 · 62
Privacy and security15%
65
62 · 50 · 58
Connected care journey15%
62
64 · 72 · 48
Protection from commercial use10%
55
62 · 62 · 50
Clinician access at the point of care10%
58
68 · 78 · 52
Research and trial consent5%
50
50 · 66 · 50
Clinical AI governance5%
66
62 · 58 · 60
Black dot: South Korea. Hollow dots: Singapore, Taiwan, Japan (scores on the right, same order). Grey line: median of all 198 countries. Dashed teal line: EU median. Overall: South Korea 60, EU median 61. Scores move in steps of about 5; read the rank with its likely range.
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 198-country median, weighted, are research and trial consent (50, median 46) and protection from commercial use (55, median 45). The published rubric reads:
Research and trial consent: A general opt-out that is honoured, or dynamic or opt-in consent, with a public register of research uses: 55 to 85.
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
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 198 countries (likely range 8 to 38) (Mixed; who holds the keys: Shared). Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of 2026-10-02, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/KOR/
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: healthrecordrights.com
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://healthrecordrights.com/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.
