Public health insurance in South Korea is a “National Health Insurance (NHI)” and one of the social insurance systems. South Korean National Health Insurance is one of the leading social security system models in the world; contributing to the country’s reputation as having the most accessible and satisfying healthcare system. In South Korea, medical fees are set by law and must be paid to medical institutions directly. The value of medical costs depends on the type of diseases and which medical institution the patient is treated in.
As of 2019, the number of hospital beds in South Korean hospitals lay at 12.4 per 1,000 population, the second largest after Japan. The number of doctors and nurses nationwide is steadily increasing, but the number of patients per doctor and nurse is much higher than in other countries. Doctors are paid high salaries in Korea, earning about five times higher salaries more than regular workers. However, the working environment of Korean medical staff is poor, and some doctors work more than 100 hours per week.
After being allowed to attract international patients in 2009, the number of foreign patients in South Korea has risen sharply, exceeding the cumulative number of two million patients in 2018. Most foreign patients traveling to South Korea come from surrounding countries or the United States. The South Korean government plans to provide institutional support and has a great interest on attracting foreign patients as this will ultimately lead to overseas expansion of domestic medical institutions as well as the pharmaceutical and medical device industry.
