Korea expands fast-track visas to spread medical tourism beyond Seoul

Korea is set to expand its network of government-approved medical tourism facilitators to 112 agencies, beginning October 1st, aiming to distribute the growing influx of overseas patients' economic benefits to regions outside of Seoul. The Ministry of Justice announced the addition of 22 new agencies to its Outstanding Facilitator for Foreign Patients program, indicating an initiative to enhance the economic advantages of K-medical tourism nationwide.

This policy change follows the record-breaking milestone of over 2 million foreign patients visiting Korea in 2025, which generated an estimated 22.8 trillion won ($17 billion) in total economic impact. On average, medical tourists spent 6.73 million won per visit, significantly more than the 2.57 million won spent by traditional tourists.

Currently, 89 medical facilities and 23 private agencies are certified under the expanded program. Although 90 of these entities are still based in the Seoul metropolitan area, the government has increased nonmetropolitan representation by adding 8 more agencies, bringing the total to 22.