Seoul City Expands Medical Tourism Partner Institutions... Recruiting 200 New Institutions

Recruitment Open Until August 12 for Medical Institutions, Foreign Patient Attraction Agencies, and Tourism Service Organizations

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Tourism Foundation announced on the 28th that they will recruit new partner organizations by the 12th of next month to create a sustainable medical tourism city.

Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Foundation plan to add wellness institutions as new partner organizations and expand the number of partner organizations to about 200, aiming not only to expand the medical tourism sector but also to respond quickly to the changing medical tourism trends.

Selected partner organizations will receive an official certificate as Seoul Metropolitan Government medical tourism partner organizations, along with online and offline promotional opportunities through the official website and help desk, domestic and international marketing to attract foreign patients, networking among partner organizations, and support for interpretation coordinators, pick-up and sending services, and wellness experience costs.

Eligibility varies by field. Medical institutions and foreign patient attraction institutions located in Seoul must not have had their registration canceled or received corrective orders for violations of the Medical Service Act since 2019. Tourism service institutions include wellness, accommodation, shopping, transportation, tourist attractions, and related facilities located in Seoul.

Medical tourism partner organizations will be selected by combining scores from the first quantitative evaluation, second qualitative evaluation, and third on-site evaluation. The evaluation criteria comprehensively assess the institution's capacity to accommodate overseas medical tourists, the status of domestic and international network establishment, plans to attract medical tourists, and collaboration plans with other medical tourism partner organizations.

Choi Kyung-joo, Director of the Tourism and Sports Bureau of Seoul, said, “To recover the medical tourism demand reduced by COVID-19, we will create a safe and reliable medical tourism environment in Seoul and actively support the medical tourism sector, including Seoul’s beauty and wellness. We will do our best to ensure that Seoul’s medical tourism can make a leap forward in the post-COVID era through active promotion of Seoul’s outstanding medical technology and strengthening public-private cooperation.”