By Kim Se-jeong
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Thursday 266,501 foreigners sought medical services in Korea last year, spending 560 billion won ($506 million) in total.
The ministry said the number was up more than 50,000 from 2013 and predicted that the cumulative number of patients since 2009, when the first survey was conducted, will surpass 1 million by end of this year.
In 2009, the number was 60,201, followed by 81,789 in 2010, 122,297 in 2011, 159,464 in 2012 and 211,218 in 2013. In 2015, the number is expected to reach 300,000, said a ministry official.
The figures include foreigners living in Korea that have their own private insurance.
According to the ministry, the majority of patients were Chinese _ last year the number was 79,481, up from 56,000 in 2013. Americans came second with 35,491, followed by Russians, Japanese, Mongolians, Kazakhs, Vietnamese, Canadians, UAE citizens, Filipinos and Uzbeks. Each patient spent 2.08 million won on average for their treatment, but UAE nationals spent the most at 15.37 million won per person.
By services, internal medicine saw 79,000 patients. This was followed by plastic surgery with 36,000 and general check-ups with 35,000. Among Chinese patients, plastic surgery was the most sought after service. Russians, Americans and UAE nationals were treated for internal problems. Japanese patients sought oriental medicine meanwhile. Most patients came to Seoul for treatment.
The increase in the number of foreign patients is being attributed to government support. It changed laws in 2009 so that local hospitals could treat foreign patients. The government also issued certificates to local clinics and medical centers that were qualified to treat foreign patients. Almost 2,000 certified institutes are now up and running across the country; they are required to report the number of patients and their earnings to the government every year.