Korea exports healthcare services to 20 countries

By Jung Min-ho

An increasing number of countries take advantage of Korea’s advanced healthcare services, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare Wednesday.

Korean hospitals and healthcare companies started to provide their services to three more countries ― Peru, Bangladesh and Qatar ― in 2016. Given this, the number of countries to which Korea exports its healthcare services has totaled 20.

According to the ministry, the most common form of healthcare export is selling techniques or information systems, followed by opening and running medical institutions and providing consulting services.

Among the 155 deals Korean companies and hospitals made in other countries, China accounts for more than 38 percent with 59 cases, followed by the United States with 40 and Kazakhstan with seven.

The ministry said hospitals and healthcare companies tend to sell techniques or information systems first before making investments to open medical institutions overseas.

The ministry noted the medical demand for cosmetic surgery and treatment is the highest of all countries, followed by dental treatment and traditional Korean medicine. How to diversify the demand is one of the biggest challenges for Korean hospitals.

The ministry expects more Korean hospitals and healthcare companies to make inroads into foreign markets in the coming years. To collect such data more systematically, the ministry has adopted an online report system for those companies that plan to do so.

“We will continue to support them in promoting the excellence of Korea’s healthcare services, with consulting and tax incentives,” Vice Health Minister Bang Moon-kyu said. “The number of foreign patients coming to Korea has also been on the rise.”

There are signs that the healthcare industry may be the country’s next growth engine, in which the government has invested heavily over the past few years.

From 2005 to 2014, Korea’s medicine exports also jumped threefold as local pharmaceutical companies have become more competitive on the global stage.

According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the country shipped 2.54 trillion won worth of medical drugs in 2014, up 9 percent from the previous year. The total is 3.1 times larger than 820 billion won in exports tallied in 2005.

During the period, medicine exports increased an average 13.4 percent annually, and the ministry reckons the pace will pick up in the coming years.

Besides drugs, the country shipped out 2.71 trillion won worth of medical equipment in 2014, up fourfold from the 720 billion won worth of medical equipment exported in 2005.