Last year, the number of cases of medical radiation use and radiation exposure per capita were the highest ever.

Sohee Lee "We need to check whether the guidelines, etc. are working in the field."

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kwon Hee-won = The number of cases of domestic medical radiation use and radiation exposure per capita have steadily increased over the past five years, reaching an all-time high last year.

According to data received from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency by People Power Party lawmaker Lee So-hee, a member of the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee, on the 11th, the number of medical radiation uses, which was 333.13 million in 2021, has steadily increased every year, reaching 431.59 million last year.

The radiation exposure per person increased by 22.7% from 2.64 mSv (millisievert) in 2021 to an all-time high of 3.24 mSv last year.

Even internationally, the level of medical radiation exposure in Korea was found to be high.

According to the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Radiation (UNSCEAR), the average amount of medical radiation exposure per person worldwide from 2009 to 2018 was only 0.57 mSv, but in Korea during the same period, it was 2.7 times more, at about 1.52 mSv.

From 1997 to 2007, the amount of medical radiation exposure per person worldwide was 0.65 mSv, which, unlike Korea, showed a decreasing trend.

However, the radiation exposure dose per person for radiation workers, such as doctors and radiographers, decreased by 10.5% from 0.38 mSv in 2021 to 0.34 mSv (provisional value) in 2025.

Rep. Lee said, “The question is not whether there are guidelines, but whether they are actually used in the clinic.” He added, “In this government audit, I will ask whether the ‘guidelines for legitimacy of imaging diagnosis’ are working properly in the field, and I will request the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency to take measures to reduce unnecessary duplicate tests while protecting essential tests.”