When a child comes home from daycare with an injury, or suddenly refuses to go at all, the first thing most parents think of is the CCTV footage. The conversation often stops at "the director won't show it to us." In fact, parents have a legal channel for viewing daycare CCTV footage, and that channel comes with three numbers attached: 60 days, 10 days and 3 years. The basis is Articles 15-4 and 15-5 of the Infant Care Act and Articles 9-2 through 9-7 of its Enforcement Rules. Here it is in order.

Footage must be kept for at least 60 days

Start with the clock. Article 15-4(3) of the Infant Care Act requires anyone operating a daycare centre to retain footage recorded by the CCTV for at least 60 days.

Those 60 days become the real deadline for any incident. Article 9-3(1) of the Enforcement Rules directs that footage held beyond 60 days be deleted on the cycle set in the centre's internal management plan, which means the recording may simply not exist after 60 days. It is common for that window to pass while a parent waits to see whether the child's account firms up or the bruise turns out to be nothing.

There is one important safeguard. Article 9-3(2) provides that where a viewing request is received before the 60-day retention period expires, the footage must not be deleted even after the retention period ends. In other words, filing the request preserves the recording. If you are unsure, file first and decide about viewing afterwards.

The grounds that open a parent's right to view

Article 15-5(1) begins by prohibiting disclosure of the footage, then carves out four exceptions. The first is the parent or guardian: where a guardian requests the original or a copy of the footage in order to confirm the safety of their child or a child in their care, following the timing, procedure and method set by ministerial rule.

The specific grounds are in Article 9-4(1) of the Enforcement Rules: where the child is suspected of having suffered psychological or physical harm from child abuse, a safety accident or similar. Note that the standard is suspicion. You are not required to prove harm before you may view the footage.

The other three exceptions are worth knowing too. Public institutions requesting it for statutory child-safety duties; criminal investigation, prosecution and court proceedings; and the bodies named in Article 9-5 of the Enforcement Rules — the child protection agency and the daycare centre mutual aid association. For those bodies the rule says access must be given immediately on request, which is faster than the parent route.

What you submit, and when you get an answer

The documents and deadlines are written into the rules.

• Submission — you request access by submitting a footage viewing request form or a doctor's opinion (Enforcement Rules Art. 9-4(1)).
• Notice deadline — unless a ground for refusal applies, the operator must notify the guardian of the place and time of viewing within 10 days of receiving the request (para. 2).
• Refusals are also on a 10-day clock — a refusal must be given in writing, with reasons, within 10 days of the request (para. 3).
• Proof of relationship — on the day, you present a family relations certificate, resident registration abstract or similar document showing your relationship to the child (para. 4).

A common misreading: the 10 days is not the deadline for showing you the footage. It is the deadline for notifying you of a place and time. Putting your preferred dates in the request speeds up scheduling. Conversely, if ten days pass with no contact at all, that itself is a procedural breach.

There are only two grounds for refusal

Article 9-4(3) of the Enforcement Rules lists exactly two:

1. The retention period has passed and the footage has been destroyed.
2. Some other legitimate ground recognised by the Minister.

"Other children appear in it, so privacy law blocks it," "it's the director's call," and "we would need every parent's consent" are not on that list. Protecting other children's privacy is not a ground for refusal — it is something to be handled through the manner of viewing. Article 15-5(6) applies the Personal Information Protection Act alongside this framework, which is why access is normally granted with unrelated persons or scenes masked.

Also worth remembering: even a valid refusal must arrive in writing. A verbal "no" leaves the procedure unfinished.

Every viewing is logged for three years

A less-known provision. Article 9-7 of the Enforcement Rules requires the operator to keep a footage viewing register recording the requester's name and contact details, the name and content of the file viewed, and the purpose of viewing. That register must be kept for three years.

This cuts two ways. It confirms that viewing is a formal, documented procedure, and it means a record exists if the dispute later escalates. That is one more reason to make your request in writing.

Some centres have no CCTV at all

Installation is the rule, with two exceptions. Under the proviso to Article 15-4(1), a centre may go without CCTV, or without operating it, if it obtains the consent of every guardian and files notice with the local mayor or district head; the same applies where a network camera has been installed with the consent of all guardians and all staff.

Article 9-2 of the Enforcement Rules sets that notification procedure, and requires the local authority to set and communicate a non-installation or non-operation period of up to one year. So it is a defined period, not an open-ended waiver. Asking about CCTV installation and any non-installation filing during your admission consultation avoids discovering the gap later. Other selection criteria are covered in how daycare waitlist priority is actually calculated and the different application channels for kindergartens and daycare centres.

Where to go if access is refused

Refusing a statutory viewing request is sanctionable. Article 56(3)5 of the Infant Care Act imposes an administrative fine of up to KRW 3 million on anyone who fails to comply with a viewing request under Article 15-5(1), and Article 56(4) gives the power to impose and collect it to the Minister of Education, the provincial governor or the mayor or district head. The amount actually imposed follows the schedule for repeat offences.

So the place to go is the childcare division of the city, county or district office that licensed the centre. Article 56(3)4 also covers failure to install CCTV or breach of installation and management duties, so the same office handles that case.

Where abuse is suspected, calling 112 comes first, separately from the viewing procedure. Once a report is filed, investigators can secure the footage directly under Article 15-5(1)3, which preserves it more reliably than a parent's request. If an injury occurred, a mutual aid claim runs on its own track much like the school safety mutual aid scheme; because the aid association is a statutory access-holder, a claim creates a second route to the footage. For reading the signals when a child refuses to go, see early responses when a child does not want to attend.

The order of operations

1. If you suspect something, check the date first. Footage is kept for a minimum of 60 days and may be deleted after that.
2. File the viewing request even if you are undecided. Once filed, the footage cannot be deleted at 60 days.
3. Submit the viewing request form or a doctor's opinion in writing and keep proof of filing.
4. Watch for the notice of place and time, or a written refusal, within 10 days.
5. Bring proof of your relationship to the child on the day.
6. If the centre does not comply, contact the childcare division of your city, county or district office. Where abuse is suspected, 112 comes first.

This article summarises the statute and enforcement rules and is not a substitute for legal advice on an individual case. Confirm the procedure with your local childcare division or a child protection agency before proceeding.