[비즈한국] It has been revealed that the number of foreign patients who visited South Korea last year reached 1.17 million, nearly doubling compared to the previous year. The Ministry of Health and Welfare stated that while the attraction of foreign patients plummeted to the 100,000-range in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has gone through a recovery phase to achieve its highest performance ever since the foreign patient attraction project began in full scale in 2009. The cumulative number of patients stands at 5.05 million. However, issues such as relatively low satisfaction with the essence of 'medical' quality and the fact that satisfaction in Japan—the country with the highest number of patients—is below average remain tasks that must be addressed.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare released data on the status of foreign patient attraction on the 3rd. The number of foreign patients who visited Korea last year was 1.17 million, setting a 'record high' for the second consecutive year following 2023. By country, patients from 202 countries visited Korea last year, with Japan, China, the U.S., Taiwan, and Thailand following in order of numbers. Japan and China accounted for 60.0% (702,000) of all foreign patients, while the U.S. accounted for 8.7% (102,000) and Taiwan for 7.1% (83,000). The U.S. and Canada saw increases of 32.2% and 58.3% respectively compared to 2023, with both countries sending the highest number of patients to Korea since 2009.
By medical department, dermatology accounted for 705,000 patients, the highest among all departments at 56.6%, followed by plastic surgery (11.4%), internal medicine integration (10.0%), and health checkup centers (4.5%). Medical departments that showed high growth rates compared to 2023 were dermatology (194.9%), oriental medicine integration (84.6%), and internal medicine integration (36.4%). Regarding the proportion of 'dermatology' and 'plastic surgery', the Ministry of Health and Welfare stated, "The Korean cosmetics industry ranked first among 19 bio-health industry competitor nations, and it is presumed that this high level of favorability toward Korean cosmetics among foreigners led to many visiting our dermatology and plastic surgery clinics."
Overall satisfaction with Korean medical services among foreign patients remains at a high level. According to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, the overall satisfaction scores were 89.9 in 2021, 89.2 in 2022, and 90.2 in 2023. However, a closer look at the statistics in the satisfaction survey report reveals several issues.
First, satisfaction with the essence, 'product quality'—or 'medical services'—is the lowest compared to other indicators. When conducting satisfaction surveys, the Korea Health Industry Development Institute categorizes service quality into product quality (essential quality of medical service), delivery quality (medical staff and coordinators, treatment guidance, medication and treatment process guidance), and environmental quality (hospital service environment, patient rights protection). As of 2023, 'product quality', which evaluates 'medical services', had the lowest score at 89.4. Delivery quality was 90.9, and environmental quality was 89.8. Low satisfaction with the essence, 'medical services', can lead to a low revisit rate for patients. Meanwhile, among sub-items, the lowest satisfaction levels were found in hospital meal satisfaction (82.7), safety accident prevention guidance (85.2), and inpatient linen and service satisfaction (88.6).
It is also pointed out that the satisfaction level of 'Japan', the top country for patient attraction last year, is low. Japan also has the highest cumulative number of patients visiting Korea. Over the past 5 years, Japan accounted for 667,962 patients, China for 475,804, and the U.S. for 269,646. However, it has been confirmed that Japan's satisfaction has been lower than the national average for two consecutive years. Looking at detailed items, Japan also gave below-average scores for the 'availability of required language guides and consent forms' item. The national average for that item was 89.6, but Japan's score was 83.3, a difference of about 10 points from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS, 93), which had the highest score.
Foreign patients also sometimes end up in medical disputes that lead to adjustment, mediation, or even lawsuits. The Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency allows foreigners to receive the same procedures for medical accidents as locals. Looking at the status of adjustment applications, a certain volume of cases occurs consistently. By year, there were 23 cases in 2020, 40 in 2021, 27 in 2022, 25 in 2023, and 37 in 2024.
In 2020, a third-generation heir to a Hong Kong conglomerate passed away while undergoing liposuction in Gangnam, Seoul, causing a controversy. This woman died after her oxygen saturation dropped sharply during the propofol injection process, and the medical staff was accused of causing her death by failing to conduct pre-surgery drug tests and failing to properly monitor the patient's condition during anesthesia. The Chinese Embassy in Seoul even issued a warning regarding plastic surgery in Korea through an official social media (SNS) statement. Recently, the first-instance court sentenced the medical staff to a fine of 3 million won, stating, "It is judged that there was professional negligence by failing to fulfill the duty of observation."
The Korea Health Industry Development Institute analyzed in its 'Report on the Results of the Survey on Foreign Patients' Medical Experience and Satisfaction in Korea' that "The 'kindness of interpreters and coordinators', 'comparison with the most ideal service level', and 'whether the desired treatment was received' have a significant impact on both the intention to recommend Korean medical services to others and the intention to reuse them," and added, "It can be interpreted that accurately analyzing the patient's needs and satisfying them to meet the patient's prior expectations is crucial."