Seoul to make medical treatment costs public for foreign visitors

 To help prevent foreign patients from being overcharged at medical institutions in South Korea, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon on Monday announced that all medical costs for treatments at 50 clinics endorsed by the city government will soon be made public.

The plan was announced as part of the city’s ambitious project to attract at least 400,000 foreign patients annually by 2018.

The city government also plans to establish a special website for foreign patients, recommending government-certified medical facilities and tips on tourism in Seoul, by December. The website will be made in four languages -- English, Chinese, Japanese and Russian. 

The mayor also announced his plan to support small and middle-sized clinics by sending qualified interpreters. The city government so far has hired 92 interpreters specializing in different languages, including Japanese, Mongolian and Chinese. It plans to hire a total of 250 language interpreters for the specific service by 2018.

According to the latest data by the Health and Welfare Ministry, the number of foreign patients increased more than four times from 2006 to last year, from 60,201 to 266,501. In 2014, Chinese patients accounted for the largest proportion, 29.8 percent, of all foreign patients, followed by those from the U.S. and Russia. The largest number of patients from China, 27.9 percent, received treatments at plastic surgery clinics.

In recent years, the country has seen a rise in the number of complaints reported by foreign nationals over botched work and exorbitant billing at Korean plastic surgery clinics.

The number of Chinese patients that have filed complaints with the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency increased to 30 last year from 20 in 2013 and nine in 2012. There are currently 17 cases pending as of August this year. Of the total 76 cases between 2012 and August this year, 47 of them were filed by Chinese nationals.

Sources have said tourists face difficulty in making the complaints as they usually receive treatment while visiting the country with a short tourism visa, as well as due to a language barrier.

Earlier this month, five Chinese women who allegedly suffered botched plastic surgery operations in Korea held a protest against the clinics and the Korean government in Myeong-dong, a well-known tourist destination in Seoul.

According to New Politics Alliance for Democracy Rep. In Jae-keun, the Korean Embassy in China reportedly sent a report to the Health and Welfare Ministry this year stating that the increasing media reports on botched plastic surgery in Korea may negatively impact bilateral relations.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)