Seoul offers free medical checkup for expatriates

Seoul City on Sunday launched a mobile clinic to offer free medical checkups for foreign residents here, officials said.

The traveling clinic provides medical inspections including for blood sugar, liver and kidney functions and hepatitis.

People who are found to suffer from any illness will be guided on medical institutions where they can receive treatment free of charge.

Starting with Itaewon on April 17, three more programs are planned to be held in April alone ― at Konkuk University in Gwangjin-gu on April 20, Catholic Youth Center in Mapo on April 24 and Chung-Ang University in Dongjak-gu on April 27.

More information is available from Seoul Global Center on (02) 2075-4107/4113.

The city has run traveling consultation programs since 2009, especially targeting foreign workers, married immigrants and international students who may have difficulty visiting the support center during weekdays.

According to the city, a total of 64 makeshift offices have been set up and 11,579 cases were solved during the consultations. The most frequent request was related to health insurance and pension benefits, followed by those on salary and residency.

Other than the medical services, the city has also started to offer consultations on industrial accidents and work insurance from this year.

“Despite a surge in foreign residents here, there have been some complaints about their use of medical services and other health issues,” said Oh Seung-hwan, the city’s director of foreign residents assistance.

“With the medical checkup services newly starting this year, we will prevent foreign residents from falling into an administrative blind spot.”

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)