Support center planned for cosmetic surgery tourists

The South Korean government is establishing a special support center for foreigners who seek medical treatment in the country by next year.

The institution will offer translation services as well as legal advice should a foreign patient get into a medical dispute with local health care providers.

Physicians and surgeons who work at clinics or hospitals that specialize in treating foreign patients will also be encouraged to be insured against malpractice.

The Health Ministry may give out incentives to clinics that are insured, or make it mandatory for all health care providers treating foreign patients to have medical malpractice insurance.

Since South Korea launched a promotional campaign to attract foreign patients in 2009, the number of foreigners visiting Korea for treatment has increased by 36.9 percent annually ― leading to total revenue of 1 trillion won ($902.82 million).

Among the patients, the number of those seeking cosmetic surgery and treatments has increased by 70.5 percent annually, according to the Health Ministry.

A single foreign cosmetic surgery patient on average spends 3.63 million won on treatment, while all foreign patients on average spend 1.86 million won.

More than 210,000 foreigners from 191 countries were treated in medical institutions here in 2013.

About 40 percent of the Chinese patients ― who account for the largest number of all foreign patients in South Korea ― visit Korea for plastic surgeries or aesthetic treatments. The number of Chinese patients increased from 1,657 in 2009 to 25,433 in 2013.

Meanwhile, the number of Korean patients filing medical disputes after receiving cosmetic surgery or other aesthetic treatments increased dramatically from 439 in 2012 to 805 last year.

Last year, a woman in her 50s died of dyspnea while receiving liposuction at a clinic in Seoul in September.

In January, a Chinese woman who suffered a cardiac arrest while receiving plastic surgery in southern Seoul was sent to a general hospital and fell into a coma.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)