South Korea is expanding access to fast-track medical visas to help hospitals outside Seoul attract more foreign patients. But the capital region will retain 90 of the programme’s 112 places, leaving regional providers with a larger share of a still heavily concentrated system.
The Ministry of Justice announced on September 21 that its designated medical tourism facilitator programme will grow from 90 to 112 institutions on October 1. Participation outside the capital region will rise from 14 to 22 institutions.
The expanded roster includes 89 medical facilities and 23 private agencies. Their designations will remain valid through September 30, 2027.
Participating institutions receive access to three-day electronic visa processing, financial documentation waivers for patients and broader eligibility for accompanying caregivers, according to The Korea Times.
For patients coordinating treatment, flights and a companion’s time off work, a shorter visa process can simplify the trip. It does not guarantee approval of an individual application.
Regional hospitals gain ground, but Seoul retains its lead
The government revised its selection criteria to give institutions outside the capital region a better chance of joining. The changes include lower performance thresholds and extra evaluation points for regional applicants, The Korea Times reported.
As a result, the regional share of designated institutions will rise from about 16% to 20%. These figures describe where participating organisations are based, not where patients receive treatment or spend their money.
For providers in Busan, Daegu and South Jeolla Province, easier visa processing addresses one part of attracting overseas patients. They still need referral relationships, interpreters, clear prices and reliable arrangements for follow-up care.
The commercial challenge is specific: give patients a reason to choose a regional hospital when they can already book treatment in Seoul.
The spending behind the policy
South Korea recorded approximately 2.01 million foreign patients in 2025, according to figures cited by The Korea Times. The report put average spending by medical visitors at 6.73 million won per trip, compared with 2.57 million won for conventional tourists—about 2.6 times as much.
That gap explains the government’s interest in distributing medical travel more widely. A patient’s stay can bring business to hotels, restaurants and transport operators as well as hospitals.
Acting Justice Minister Lee Jin-soo said the government wanted to attract visitors “whose spending extends from treatment to lodging and retail,” according to The Korea Times.
The report also cited an estimated 22.8 trillion won in total economic impact from foreign patients. That is a broader measure than direct visitor spending or hospital revenue and should not be presented as either.
Regional returns will depend on the care patients seek and how long they stay. A brief outpatient visit and surgery followed by weeks of recovery create different demands for accommodation, transport and clinical support.
More visas do not yet prove a regional shift
Medical visas issued through certified channels reached 9,804 between October 2025 and August 2026, up 40% from a year earlier, The Korea Times reported.
The increase shows greater use of that visa route. It does not establish that faster processing drove the growth or that hospitals outside Seoul received more patients. The figure also covers a particular channel and period, rather than all foreign patients treated in South Korea.
To assess the expansion, regional authorities will need patient numbers and spending data from the newly designated institutions. A longer list of approved providers alone will not show whether the policy has changed where people travel for care.
What patients should check beyond the visa
Participation in the programme gives institutions access to visa benefits. Patients should not treat it as proof that a particular treatment is suitable or that a clinician will deliver a good outcome.
Before paying a deposit, patients should establish who will perform the procedure, what the written price covers and who will manage complications. The same questions apply whether the provider is in Seoul or a regional city.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises medical travellers to check provider qualifications and arrange follow-up care. It warns that care for complications can be expensive and may not be covered by existing insurance. This is general advice for treatment abroad, not a finding about the Korean institutions in the programme.
The CDC’s medical tourism guidance also stresses the value of obtaining complete medical records before returning home. For a patient who needs further treatment, those records allow the next clinician to understand what was done.
The designations expire on September 30, 2027. By then, the government will have had a year to measure whether eight additional regional places brought more patients beyond the capital—and whether those providers delivered the follow-up support that overseas care requires.
