South Korea - Medical Tourism in Korea Has Huge Room to Grow

The health authorities of Abu Dhabi, one of the seven United Arab Emirates, has signed an agreement with Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, Seoul Asan Medical Center and Seoul Samsung Medical Center to have patients treated in Korea.

The oil-rich country sends 130,000 people overseas for medical treatment each year at its own expense.

Last year, 3,000 patients from Abu Dhabi traveled to the United Kingdom, Germany, Thailand and Singapore for medical treatment, but only 54 came to Korea.

Korea has gained a global reputation for the high quality of its medical services. It ranked first in treating strokes in an OECD report on the quality of medical services last week, second in treating cervical cancer and fifth in intestinal cancer. Each year, around 200 doctors from advanced countries visit Korea to learn robotic surgery skills, while it also boasts the world's best skills in organ transplants, coronary bypass surgery, treatments for back and joint disorders, cosmetic surgery and fertility treatments.

But only 81,789 foreigners came to Korea last year for medical treatment, a number dwarfed by the 1.56 million foreign patients who went to Thailand, 730,000 to India and 720,000 to Singapore. One branch of the Apollo Hospital chain in India treated 82,000 patients from 55 countries. At Gleneagles Hospital in Singapore, 60 percent of patients are foreigners. It has VIP rooms that cost up to US$5,000 a night.

One Russian paid W190 million (US$1=W1,165) for his treatment for liver disease and room at a university hospital in Seoul in 2009. A Saudi tycoon had surgery for prostate cancer as well as an operation on his back and spent W120 million. And with the popularity of Korean TV soaps, women in many Asian countries are saving up to get cosmetic surgery and skin care treatment in Korea.

The medical sector is not at risk of being overtaken by automated equipment and has vast potential for job creation. As of 2009, every W1 trillion in sales led to 948 new jobs at Samsung Electronics, 367 at SK Telecom and 314 at Shinhan Bank. But at Seoul Asan Medical Center, that amount of sales created 6,951 jobs. The medical and health sector took up 14 out of 20 jobs that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics chose last year as growing fastest by 2018. The government must actively support the growth of medical tourism for the sake of creating jobs.

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