Korea's international patient attraction performance in 2024 surpassed 1.17 million patients, recording the highest figure since the system's implementation in 2009 (cumulative total: 5.047 million patients). This represents a 93.2% increase compared to the previous year (605,000 patients) and a 135.3% increase over 2019 (497,000 patients), which was the peak performance before the pandemic. Particularly, the surge in patients from major Asian countries, including Japan, China, and Taiwan, drove this growth trajectory.

Daejeon also shows a distinct recovery trend. The number of international patients, which had declined to 1,339 in 2020, increased to 6,465 in 2024, representing a 383% growth. This demonstrates that Daejeon's medical tourism competitiveness, combining advanced medical infrastructure with wellness tourism resources, is once again gaining attention.

2025 Daejeon Medical Tourism Attraction Institution Partnership Project

The Daejeon Tourism Organization is also promoting the “2025 Daejeon Medical Tourism Attraction Institution Partnership Project” to attract international patients to Daejeon. Through close cooperation with private medical institutions, the project seeks to deliver meaningful growth in international patient attraction.


‧ International patient attraction expansion support (transportation costs, translation fees)
‧ Enhanced domestic and international marketing support
‧ Capacity-building support for institutions(consulting services and accreditation for international patient-attracting healthcare institutions)
‧ Establishment of multilingual guidance systems(multilingual website development and translation of medical tourism products)
‧ Financial support for wellness tours linked to international patient care(for participating agencies)

For more details, please visit Daejeon Medical Tourism

International Patient Attraction Healthcare Institution Accreditation System

The international patient attraction institution accreditation system is a government evaluation and certification program for healthcare institutions with excellent international medical services, based on the “Act on Support for Overseas Expansion of Medical Services and Attraction of International Patients.”
Eligible applicants are international patient attraction healthcare institutions registered with the Ministry of Health and Welfare, including all hospital-level facilities (general hospitals, dental, oriental medicine, nursing, and psychiatric hospitals) and clinic-level facilities. Institutions renewing existing healthcare accreditation may also apply for simultaneous evaluation with international patient attraction institution accreditation.


‧ Official accreditation mark usage for up to 4 years
‧ Domestic and overseas promotional support, including multilingual videos
‧ Preferential support for international medical business
‧ Operating fund loan support
‧ Legal advisory services for patient attraction (new)
‧ VIP patient greeting service at Incheon Airport (new)
‧ Automatic designation as a “Medical Tourism Excellence Institution” by the Ministry of Justice

Moreover, a capacity-building support program for international patient attraction businesses has been newly introduced. This provides customized consulting tailored to specific situations, including legal and regulatory frameworks, promotion and marketing, and startup consulting to establish sustainable growth foundations. To complement the previously absent attraction business accreditation, ISO 9001 (Quality Management System) certification support is also newly promoted. Full consulting and documentation/on-site assessment costs are supported to establish quality and service systems meeting international standards, with certification valid for three years.

For detailed application guidelines, please refer to the Korea Health Industry Development Institute(KOHI).