By Lee Kyung-min
The government has toughened health screening for some foreign visitors entering Korea, as the number of those diagnosed with tuberculosis has surged in recent years.
A joint effort by the Ministry of Justice and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) went into effect last Wednesday, toughening visa requirements to control possible infections brought in by people coming from 18 high-risk countries.
The KCDC-designated countries reported a large number of visa requests from their citizens for education or employment purposes. The countries reported an infection rate of more than 50 out of 100,000 people, it added.
The justice ministry said that people from the 18 high-risk countries seeking visas here for 90-day stays or longer are required to submit a physical examination report approved by a foreign ministry-designated hospital.
Foreign visitors confirmed to be infected with the disease while in Korea are required to seek medical treatment, and those refusing will be extradited to their home countries after receiving a minimum of treatment to bring their infection under control, the KCDC said.
The ministry will issue a new visa to those extradited once a physical examination report is submitted showing a full recovery.
The ministry also plans to deny entry to infected foreigners if their purpose of visit is to seek healthcare provided by the National Health Insurance Service, or if they show resistance to multiple drugs used in current treatments.
According to a KCDC report, the number of confirmed tuberculosis infections in foreigners here has tripled over the past five years, from 637 in 2009 to 1,858 in 2014.
Of the total, 63 percent, or 1,171, were men, almost 1.7 times the number of women at 687.
By age, almost one third were in their 20s, accounting for 34.2 percent, followed by those in their 30s at 19.7 percent and in their 50s at 18.1 percent.