South Korea

Healthcare System

Universal healthcare via NHIS (National Health Insurance Service) since 2000. One of Asia's most advanced healthcare systems. Global leader in medical tourism — #1 in Asia for cosmetic surgery, dental tourism, oncology, and stem cell therapy. ~600,000 foreign patients/year. OECD top-ranked for access and outcomes.

System Type: Single-payer national health insurance
Regulatory Body: MFDS (Ministry of Food and Drug Safety / 식품의약품안전처, Sikpum Uiyak Anjeoncheo)
Data Protection: Personal Information Protection Act (개인정보보호법, PIPA, 2011, substantially revised 2023). Medical records: Medical Service Act (의료법) requires 10-year retention.
Currency: KRW
Emergency Number: 119
Languages: ko, en

Coding Systems

diagnosis

KCD-8

Korean Classification of Diseases, 8th revision (한국표준질병사인분류). Based on WHO ICD-10 with Korean-specific extensions. Maintained by HIRA (Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service).

dental

FDI (ISO 3950)

Federation Dentaire Internationale two-digit notation. Standard in Korean dentistry.

procedures

NHIS Procedure Classification (건강보험 행위 급여/비급여 목록)

Korean health insurance procedure coding system. EDI-based electronic claims system for NHIS reimbursement. Separate covered (급여) and non-covered (비급여) procedure lists.

drugs

MFDS Registration Code / NHIS Drug Code / ATC

MFDS (Ministry of Food and Drug Safety) drug registration number + NHIS reimbursement code for covered drugs. ATC classification used for formulary management.

Translation Corridors

KR→US (Korean-Americans with Korean hospitalization records for US insurance) KR→JP (Korean residents in Japan) KR→DE (Korean automotive/tech expats) KR→AU (Korean students and workers) Medical tourism TO Korea: US, Middle East, Chinese patients — Korean records for home-country insurers

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