"Check Veterinary Clinic Fees in Our Neighborhood"…Initial Consultation Fee 1.9x, Hospitalization Fee 1.5x Difference

Average Initial Consultation Fee 10,840 KRW · Hospitalization Fee 60,541 KRW
Animal Hospital Treatment Fee Disclosure System to Operate from the 3rd

Medical fees for over 1,000 animal hospitals nationwide will be disclosed. The target includes 11 items such as consultation, examination, hospitalization, and vaccines.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced that it will operate a system to disclose the status of animal hospital medical fees starting from the 3rd. This is in accordance with the revised "Veterinarian Act" effective from January 4 last year, and with the implementation of the medical fee posting system in animal hospitals from January 5 this year, the posted medical fee status is surveyed and disclosed.

The medical fee items subject to posting, investigation, and disclosure at animal hospitals include consultation and examination (initial visit, follow-up visit, consultation), hospitalization, vaccination (5 types), and tests (X-ray, complete blood count), totaling 11 items. The medical fee status is disclosed by nationwide, provincial, and city/county/district levels, showing the lowest, highest, average, and median costs.

There are about 5,000 animal hospitals in total. The animal hospitals disclosing medical fees this time are 1,008 locations with two or more veterinarians. For animal hospitals with only one veterinarian, which will be subject to the medical fee posting obligation from January 5 next year, investigations and disclosures will be conducted starting in 2024.

The nationwide average cost per medical item was found to be 10,840 KRW for initial consultation fees, 60,541 KRW for hospitalization fees, 25,992 KRW for comprehensive dog vaccines, and 37,266 KRW for X-ray examination fees.

The variation between the highest and lowest average medical fees by province is 1.9 times for initial consultation fees (7,280 to 13,772 KRW), 1.5 times for hospitalization fees (45,200 to 67,608 KRW), 1.4 times for comprehensive dog vaccines (21,480 to 29,583 KRW), and 1.6 times for X-ray examination fees (28,000 to 45,500 KRW).

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the main reason for the variation in medical fees is explained by the animal medical industry as being due to factors such as rent, equipment and staff numbers at each animal hospital, hospital size, medications used, and the specialization of individual treatments when determining medical fees.

Detailed medical fee status can be checked on the Medical Fee Status Disclosure website. It can also be found on the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs website under 'Customized Policy Information → Consumer → Animal Hospital Medical Fees.'

Kim Se-jin, head of the Companion Animal Medical Team at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said, "With the disclosure of animal hospital medical fee status information, it is expected to help pet owners make reasonable choices of hospitals by referring to the medical fee status." He added, "We will continue to create conditions that allow pet owners to reasonably compare and judge medical costs by expanding the range of medical fees that must be posted at animal hospitals through discussions with stakeholders including the animal medical community, consumers, and pet owners."

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