Number of foreign visitors to S. Korea for medical treatment hits record high last year: data

SEOUL, April 2 (Yonhap) -- The number of foreigners traveling to South Korea for medical treatment reached a new high in 2024, government data showed Wednesday, with their visits believed to have created an economic value of up to 14 trillion won (US$9.55 billion).

More than 1.17 million foreigners visited the country for medical treatment last year, nearly doubling from the 605,768 tallied in 2023, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

The spike was partly attributed to a government-initiated project to attract more foreign patients.

The visiting patients are forecast to have spent some 8 trillion won at hospitals, generating an overall economic effect of some 14 trillion won, according to the ministry.

In 2023, foreign patients paid 3.9 trillion won in medical expenses here, creating an economic impact worth 6.9 trillion won.

An accumulated 5.05 million foreign nationals visited Korea for medical services from 2009 to 2024.

Last year, 37.7 percent of the patients were from Japan, followed by 22.3 percent from China, 8.7 percent from the United States, 7.1 percent from Taiwan and 3.3 percent from Thailand.

In particular, the number of Taiwanese patients surged over fivefold from the previous year to 83,456 in 2024, while a record high 101,733 American patients visited South Korea.

By hospital type, 56.6 percent of the foreign patients visited dermatologists last year.

Some 11.5 percent visited plastic surgery hospitals, with 10 percent visiting internal medicine doctors, 4.5 percent medical checkup centers and 2.7 percent oriental medicine clinics.

nyway@yna.co.kr
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