[2026 National Assembly Audit] 1.54 Million Foreign Patients in Dermatology and Plastic Surgery... Cosmetic Surgery VAT Refunds Reach KRW 196.4 Billion

Foreign patients in dermatology and plastic surgery up 82.5% year over year
VAT refunds for cosmetic surgery up 105.7%

In 2025, foreign patients’ medical visits were concentrated in dermatology and plastic surgery. Value-added tax refunds for foreign tourists receiving cosmetic plastic surgery also approached 200 billion won.

The Asia Business Daily DB

According to parliamentary audit materials submitted by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute at the request of Nam In-soon, a lawmaker of the Democratic Party of Korea, on October 8, the number of foreign patients in dermatology and plastic surgery reached 1,545,800 in 2025, up 82.5% from 846,889 the previous year. Compared with 353,134 in 2023, the figure increased about 4.4-fold in two years.

The number of dermatology patients rose 86.2%, from 705,044 in 2024 to 1,312,700 in 2025, while the number of plastic surgery patients increased 64.3%, from 141,845 to 233,100. As a result, dermatology and plastic surgery’s share of patients across all medical specialties climbed from 52% in 2023 to 68% in 2024 and 74.1% in 2025.

In particular, the total number of foreign patients across all medical specialties increased by 842,631 from the previous year, of which 698,911 were in dermatology and plastic surgery, accounting for 82.9% of the increase. Although efforts to attract foreign patients grew substantially, most of the increase was concentrated in cosmetic medicine.

Dermatology and plastic surgery also accounted for a large share of treatment by nationality. There were 516,642 Chinese patients, representing 82.5% of all patients from China; 497,811 Japanese patients (82.8%); 165,579 Taiwanese patients (89%); 103,486 U.S. patients (53.6%); and 48,025 Thai patients (81.9%).

The overseas expansion of medical institutions was also concentrated in dermatology and plastic surgery. Of the 203 reports of overseas expansion filed from 2021 to 2025, 97, or 47.8%, were in dermatology and plastic surgery. In 2025, 22 of the 45 reports (48.9%) were in those fields.

Value-added tax refunds related to cosmetic plastic surgery also rose sharply. In 2025, VAT refunds for foreign tourists receiving cosmetic plastic surgery totaled 196.4 billion won, up 105.7% from 95.5 billion won the previous year. The number of refunds also increased 69.9%, from 1,012,935 to 1,721,095.

Since the system was introduced in April 2016, cumulative refunds through 2025 have totaled 400.8 billion won, across 3,521,326 refunds. Refunds in 2025 alone accounted for about 49% of the cumulative total. Refunds for procedures such as skin rejuvenation, skin whitening, anti-aging treatment and pore reduction also rose 220.4% from the previous year, to 987,909 in 2025.

“The increased attraction of foreign patients is significant for the growth of medical tourism, but 82.9% of the increase in patients across medical specialties was concentrated in dermatology and plastic surgery,” Nam said. “Policies should be designed to strengthen Korea’s medical competitiveness in a range of fields, including treatment for serious diseases.” She added, “With VAT refunds for cosmetic plastic surgery approaching 200 billion won in a single year and exceeding 400 billion won cumulatively, the impact of this tax support should be assessed objectively. We should comprehensively review tax equity with domestic patients, the impact on public finances and the allocation of medical resources.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.