Korea pulls in 300,000 foreign patients in 2015

Almost 300,000 foreign nationals visited South Korea last year for medical treatment, an 11 percent increase from the year before, the nation’s Health Ministry announced Thursday.

The patients spent a total of 669.4 billion won ($566.7 million) last year, an increase of 20.2 percent from the year before. Among them, a total of 271 patients spent more than 100 million won on their treatments while staying here. In 2014, 210 patients from overseas did so.

Among the patients, the largest number were from China, followed by those from the U.S., Russia and Japan. Also, the largest number of patients, about 80,000 of them, visited internal medicine clinics -- followed by those who visited plastic surgery clinics.

Meanwhile, the largest proportion of the Chinese patients, 24 percent of them, visited Korea for cosmetic surgeries and treatments. Also, 28 percent of Russian patients, and 23 percent of those from the U.S., sought treatment at internal medicine clinics.

In its effort to attract more foreign patients, the Health Ministry plans to improve its language interpretation and tourism services specifically for foreign visitors seeking medical treatment here.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)