A citizen made a formal complaint.
Koreaboo
26 minutes ago
According to recent reports, i-dle member Miyeon has been reported to the government on suspicion of violating the law in her recent YouTube video.
Miyeon | @noodle.zip/Instagram
On September 8, KST, an informant identified as “A” revealed that they had filed a formal complaint against the idol via the People’s Petition system to the Yongsan Public Health Center in Seoul. The complainant allegedly demanded that the authorities confirm whether Miyeon’s recent content violated the laws on medical advertising.
The video in question was uploaded on Miyeon’s YouTube channel on September 1, KST, in which she received her first full medical check-up as a freshly turned 30-year-old. This video included clips of Miyeon undergoing gastric endoscopy, as well as the moments before and after she received sedatives for the procedure. These are the very portions of the video that “A” raised an issue about.
According to the complaint, during the procedure, the name of the specific medical institution in Yongsan was partially visible in the video, along with its medical staff and facilities. “A” argued that this could possibly constitute medical advertising, and demanded that the advertiser’s identity be revealed, along with the extent of the medical institution’s involvement in the production of the video. They also urged the authorities to assess whether the disclosure of information about the institution and the staff, as well as the procedure itself, complied with relevant laws.
A text displayed inside the facility was also included in the complaint. On one of the walls inside the establishment, a board reading “Health Checkup Center: Specialized Hospital for Gastric Endoscopy and Colonoscopy” was displayed. However, “A” argued that public records identified the facility as a clinic, rather than a specialized hospital, and requested an investigation into whether the facility had the right to claim the “specialized hospital” status at the time of filming and posting.
The production team behind Miyeon’s YouTube video later responded, clarifying that they hadn’t received any financial compensation from the facility for the video, and neither did they have any intention of advertising the place. The partial disclosure of the establishment’s name was simply an oversight, for which they apologized. The video was later updated with the correct amount of blurring to hide the specific details of the facility.
According to “A,” an official in charge at the Yongsan Public Health Center had confirmed that even if no financial exchange occurred in the process, content featuring a medical facility’s name or medical procedures can be considered medical advertising. The official guidelines on medical advertising, published by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, also state that any act of presenting or conveying information about a medical institution or practices to consumers may qualify as adveritsing under the Medical Service Act, even if there is no payment involved.
Meanwhile, the Yongsan Public Health Center’s Health and Medical Affairs Division is set to review the complaint regarding Miyeon’s video to assess whether it constituted medical advertising. The review will also address the appropriateness of showing the sedation and endoscopy procedure, as well as the establishment’s use of the term “specialized hospital.”
Source: Nate News and Chosun