By Lee Kyung-min
The government has granted 1,560 medical institutions, which met strengthened safety requirements, licenses to treat foreign patients, the government said Thursday.
The number is almost half the 2,840 from last year, as 1,515 institutions did not seek a license this year as they failed to meet the new requirements.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the medical institutions will be able to offer treatments to foreign patients and 1,047 private businesses can engage in marketing to attract medical tourists over the next three years.
Under the law that took effect in 2009, those seeking to attract foreign tourists for medical services must renew their licenses every three years or face a fine of up to 30 million won ($26,300) or a prison term of up to three years.
The ministry said all of the 1,560 medical institutions are insured for medical malpractice. Clinics or hospitals with less than 100 beds are insured for up to 100 million won, and hospitals with over 100 beds 200 million won.
They are also equipped with at least one doctor who has undergone five years of additional training in a specific specialization after graduating medical school.
The 1,047 private agencies are all insured for surety bonds and have at least 100 million won in capital with a local office.
The ministry will publish a brochure in foreign languages next week to better provide accurate information on finding reliable medical institutions. It will require government-approved institutions to put up a plaque to better differentiate them from illegal ones.
Currently, foreign patients undergoing plastic surgery or dermatological treatments are exempted from value-added tax, which accounts for 10 percent of medical fees.
The ministry offers hospitals and clinics interpretation services for foreign patients throughout medical consultations here.
It launched a website, health.medicalkorea.or.kr, which introduces medical checkup programs at major hospitals and enables customers to make reservations online prior to visiting.
It is seeking to increase competitiveness of not only medical professionals and interpreters here but also those from overseas by offering them opportunities to train here. It maintains a network between local medical professionals and foreign doctors.
Meanwhile, the strengthened measure was introduced last year amid a steep increase in the number of foreigners visiting Korea for medical purposes in recent years.
The number of medical tourists increased 23 percent to 364,189 last year from 296,889 in 2015, generating 860 billion won ($760 million) in revenue.
The ministry said it would continue to support the increase in medical tourism, a new medical growth engine. It aims to increase the number of foreign tourists to 1 million by 2020.