KUALA LUMPUR - The number of Korean medical institutions expanding overseas has grown at an average annual rate of about 21 per cent over the past nine years, driven largely by demand for dermatology and cosmetic surgery services.

A total of 249 cases of overseas expansion were recorded between 2016 and 2024 under the Act on Support for Overseas Expansion of Medical Services and Attraction of International Patients, according to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (Khidi).

The law, enacted in 2016, requires domestic medical institutions to notify the Ministry of Health and Welfare when opening or operating facilities abroad, dispatching medical personnel, or transferring medical technologies and information systems overseas, as reported by Korea JoongAng Daily.

The number of reported cases rose from 10 across seven countries in 2016 to 45 in 15 countries in 2024, translating into an average annual increase of 20.7 per cent.

Over the nine-year period, Korean medical professionals expanded into a total of 34 countries worldwide.

By destination, China recorded the highest number of cases at 80, accounting for 32.1 per cent of the total.

Vietnam followed with 37 cases, while Mongolia had 20, Kazakhstan and the United States 11 each, and Uzbekistan and Japan nine each.

By specialty, dermatology and cosmetic surgery dominated with 105 cases, representing 42.2 per cent of total overseas expansions.

Dentistry ranked second with 38 cases, followed by general hospitals with 19, traditional Korean medicine with 15, rehabilitation medicine with eight, and orthopaedics, obstetrics and gynaecology, and general surgery with seven each.

The most common mode of expansion was the establishment or operation of medical institutions overseas, accounting for 106 cases or 42.6 per cent of the total.

This was followed by consulting services with 71 cases, or 28.5 per cent, and the dispatch of medical personnel with 31 cases, or 12.4 per cent.

The share of full-scale overseas openings declined during the Covid-19 pandemic, falling from 36 per cent in 2020 to 27 per cent in 2022.

This trend reversed in 2023 and 2024, when full-scale openings rebounded to 66.7 per cent.

Khidi said closely analysing overseas expansion trends and securing early-mover advantages would be critical to strengthening South Korea’s competitiveness in exporting medical services.