Health Record Rights Index · country brief · this country's data as of October 2, 2026
Who holds the health record in South Korea?
In 2026, South Korea scores 60 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record. It is tied for 23rd of 198 countries and territories, and could rank anywhere from 8th to 38th allowing for scoring error, in the Mixed band (45 to 64). Who holds the keys: you and the health system. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 2, 2026.
The person has real controls inside a government or provider system. Its strongest right, compared with the typical country, is rules for AI in your care (66 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country). No right falls below the typical country; the closest to it is your say over research use (50 out of 100, against 46 for the typical country).
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 October 2, 2026 · research tool, not legal advice
overall score · Mixed band, 45 to 64
60/100
rank among 198 countries and territories; likely 8th to 38th, allowing for scoring error
In 2026, getting your full record scores 66 out of 100 in South Korea; the typical country scores 40 to 45. 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. Source: CaseNote mirror of Korean statute, March 24, 2026, and the other sources below.
Who controls health records in South Korea?
In 2026, you and the health system hold the keys to your health record in South Korea. Control over who sees it scores 55 out of 100 in South Korea; the typical country scores 30. 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. Source: CaseNote mirror of Korean statute, March 24, 2026, and the other sources below.
How does South Korea compare?
In 2026, South Korea scores 60 out of 100, against 39 for the typical country. This brief compares it with Singapore (62 out of 100), Taiwan (63 out of 100) and Japan (56 out of 100). Source: the ranking of all 198 countries and territories.
Eight rights, compared with Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and the typical country
Scores out of 100, by right
Getting your full record20%
66
62 · 68 · 62
Control over who sees it20%
55
58 · 52 · 62
Privacy and security15%
65
62 · 50 · 58
One record across your care15%
62
64 · 72 · 48
Protection from sale and ads10%
55
62 · 62 · 50
Doctors see it when treating you10%
58
68 · 78 · 52
Your say over research use5%
50
50 · 66 · 50
Rules for AI in your care5%
66
62 · 58 · 60
Black dot: South Korea. Hollow dots: Singapore, Taiwan, Japan (scores out of 100 on the right, same order). Gray line: the typical country of all 198. Overall: South Korea 60 out of 100. Scores move in steps of about 5 points, so read a 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. Every right is at or above the typical country. The two with the most room to grow, weighted by how much each counts, are control over who sees it (55 out of 100, against 30 for the typical country) and getting your full record (66 out of 100, against 40 to 45 for the typical country). Our scoring rules give more points for:
Control over who sees it: A way to say no to sharing (or to be asked first), a log you can read of who opened your record, and finer choices about who sees what. Together these put this right at 60 to 80 out of 100.
Getting your full record: A national portal that shows most people at least part of their record (a summary, prescriptions, lab results) puts this right at 60 to 75 out of 100. A near-full record that you can download, with a long history and used by most people, puts it at 76 to 90.
Which laws give health record rights in South Korea?
Medical Service Act (2024 amendment; Articles 21, 21-2, 21-3, 88): Right to view and copy records, consent-based transfer between providers, criminal penalty for unlawful disclosure.
Personal Information Protection Act (2026 amendment): 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.
Doctors, waits and private care context, not part of the score
Doctors per 10,000
26.6 2023 · 34th highest of 38 OECD countries
Nurses and midwives per 10,000
98.0 2024 · 19th highest of 38 OECD countries
Private insurance + out-of-pocket
40.0% 2023 · 4th highest of 35 OECD countries
Record reaches private care?
partly
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."
Real cases
March 19, 2025 · National Human Rights Commission of Korea Rights commission finds a hospital routinely wrote false entries in a patient's record
September 14, 2026 · Hankyung (Korea Economic Daily) Doctor took thousands of patients' details; hospital fined for late notice, not the leak
Who to contact in South Korea
Not legal advice. Laws, offices and websites can change, so check with the office itself before you rely on anything here.
For South Korea, we list 2 official offices to contact about your health record, as of :
See your record:나의건강기록 앱 (My Health Record app)
Privacy regulator:개인정보보호위원회 (Personal Information Protection Commission)
Patient rights body:한국의료분쟁조정중재원 (Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency)
In 2026, South Korea scored 60 out of 100 for how much say a person has over their own health record, tied for 23rd of 198 countries and territories (could be 8th to 38th), in the Mixed band. Who holds the keys: you and the health system. Source: Health Record Rights Index, SuperTruth, this country's data as of October 2, 2026, https://healthrecordrights.com/brief/south-korea/
The 20 sources for South Korea
Each source appears once, under the first right it supports. Titles are shown as our research agents recorded them, usually in the page's own language; text in square brackets is our machine translation. Links were checked on the date shown.
Getting your full record (4 sources)
“Medical Service Act, current text”
CaseNote mirror of Korean statute (law or regulation) · Title in English
Dated March 24, 2026 · Link checked October 2, 2026 (opened)
Used for: Getting your full record; Control over who sees it; Protection from sale and ads; Doctors see it when treating you
SuperTruth Inc. · 24 S. 24th St., Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA · +1 215 918 4140 · supertruth.ai Something wrong? Tell us · Questions 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™: the Data Trust Index, which grades the evidence behind each score. SuperTruth makes it and publishes this index. 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/south-korea/#sources. SuperTruth built this index and sells health data verification products; no one paid to be included. Research tool, not legal advice. Our scores and our own words are CC BY 4.0; quoted law and source titles stay with their owners.
