Korea to ease immigration rules to attract more medical tourists

Korea aims to ease immigration procedures to attract more international patients who visit the country to undergo medical treatment or receive cosmetic surgery.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Monday that the government is aiming to attract as many as 700,000 medical tourists by 2027.

The number of medical tourists visiting Korea last year stood at 248,000, up 70 percent from 146,000 tallied a year earlier, as many rules and regulations induced by the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted around the world.

In 2019, before the pandemic, 497,000 medical tourists visited Korea.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare set a goal of boosting the figure by 26 percent every year so the number can reach 700,000 by 2027.

First of all, the government will increase the number of medical institutions authorized by the Ministry of Justice to apply for e-visas for patients to more than 50 this year from the current 27.

The government will also expand the range of guardians or protectors of international patients to include their siblings. Currently, only the patients’ spouses or parents can be recognized as their guardians or protectors.

The health ministry noted that relevant ministries will discuss measures to address concerns that the easing of immigration procedures could lead to an increase in the number of illegal immigrants.

In a bid to link medical tours to the so-called wellness tourism, the government will create wellness and medical tourism convergence clusters in Incheon, Daegu, Busan, Gangwon Province, North Jeolla Province and North Chungcheong Province.

Wellness tourism is a relatively new concept referring to travel promoting personal health and wellbeing through relaxing activities such as thermal springs, thalassotherapy, spas and meditation.

The government will also enhance promotional activities utilizing Korean culture, including K-pop and K-drama, to attract more international patients.

In a recent survey conducted by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, nearly half of 1,200 surveyed international patients — 49.7 percent — said their exposure to Korean culture encouraged them to travel to Korea for medical treatment or cosmetic surgery.

The government will push to revise a law to facilitate telemedicine for international patients in a bid to improve advance consultation before they come to Korea and follow-up services after they return to their home countries.