Doctor Fined 2 Million Won for Using Patient Data to Promote New Clinic

A doctor in his 30s has been fined 2 million won for illegally acquiring patient phone numbers from a hospital where he previously worked and using them to advertise his own newly opened clinic. The Changwon District Court handed down the sentence on July 23, citing violations of the Personal Information Protection Act.

The doctor, identified as Mr. A, allegedly copied the phone numbers of four patients he had treated while working at a surgical clinic in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, in July 2024. He then used this information to send promotional text messages for his own clinic, which opened in December of the same year.

The messages, sent by Mr. A's wife, informed recipients of the clinic's opening and offered them a chance to receive treatment a day before the official opening. The court considered the circumstances of the offense, the type of personal information leaked, and the degree of harm to the patients' privacy when determining the penalty.