A dispute over whether a YouTube video showing (G)I-DLE member Miyeon undergoing a health checkup violated South Korea's medical law has led to a review by the local public health office. The complaint centers on whether the content effectively amounts to medical advertising, given that the video showed not only the sedation endoscopy procedure but also the hospital's name, its medical staff and its interior facilities.
Yongsan Health Office Reviews Possible Medical Law Violation, With Two Issues at Stake
The Yongsan-gu Public Health Office in Seoul said on the 9th that it is reviewing whether YouTube health checkup content featuring Miyeon violates the current medical law. A petition filed through the government's online complaint portal was assigned to the office's health and medical affairs division, prompting the review.
The video at issue is an episode titled "(G)I-DLE Miyeon, First Health Checkup of Her 30-Year Life, Was I Talking Nonsense?" posted on the YouTube channel "Jeondosa" on the 1st. The content shows Miyeon receiving a health checkup, including scenes of her being given a sedative for an endoscopy and the scope being inserted through her mouth.
The initial version also revealed information identifying the medical institution in Seoul's Yongsan district, including its name, its medical staff and its interior facilities. As of the 9th, the video had drawn 1.42 million views.
The complainant raised two main issues. The first was a request to verify whether the phrase "Health Checkup Center, Specialty Hospital for Gastroscopy and Colonoscopy," displayed inside the hospital, was used in line with the actual requirements for specialty hospital designation.
The second was that the examination itself, including the administration of the sedative and the insertion of the endoscope, was shown without any blurring. The complainant is also reported to have asked for an explanation of why some scenes shown in the initial release were later blurred.
Article 56 of the current medical law bars anyone other than the operator or head of a medical institution, or a licensed medical professional, from advertising medical services. Even advertising by medical professionals is restricted when it shows surgical or invasive procedures directly.
The health office plans to review whether the video is simply content documenting Miyeon's health checkup experience or constitutes medical advertising that promotes a specific medical institution.
Producers Say There Was No Advertising or Sponsorship, and Hospital Details Were Blurred
As the controversy spread, the producers of "Jeondosa" issued a statement on the 8th saying the content was not made to promote a specific medical institution.
"This health checkup episode was not planned for the purpose of promoting a specific medical institution, but was produced to capture the process and experience of a cast member actually undergoing a health checkup," the producers said.
They also denied any financial ties with the hospital. The producers said they had not been asked by the medical institution where the filming took place to carry out any advertising, promotion or content production, and had received no monetary compensation or economic support of any kind, including production costs, advertising fees or sponsorship payments. They stressed that they had paid for Miyeon's health checkup and treatment themselves.
The producers did acknowledge, however, that information identifying the hospital had not been sufficiently obscured in the original video.
"In the process of documenting the health checkup in detail, we found that information identifying the medical institution had not been sufficiently handled in some scenes of the initial release," the producers said, adding that they discovered the issue while reviewing the footage after the teaser was released and completed corrective steps such as additional blurring. They said they had subsequently reviewed the full video again.
"Going forward, we will produce content with greater care, not only in planning and production but also in the review process before release," they said.
