Unions oppose medical tourism in Korea

Over 400 employees at one of the biggest public hospitals in South Korea, Seoul National University Hospital launched a two-day strike demanding the government cancel its recent push to privatize medical services in the country. The strike is the union’s response to the Health Ministry’s recent decision to allow hospitals to set up for-profit subsidiaries in an effort to promote medical tourism.

Over 400 employees at one of the biggest public hospitals in South Korea, Seoul National University Hospital launched a two-day strike demanding the government cancel its recent push to privatize medical services in the country. The strike is the union’s response to the Health Ministry’s recent decision to allow hospitals to set up for-profit subsidiaries in an effort to promote medical tourism.

SNUH is a public hospital but is taking a major role in the government’s plan to privatize medical services, by pushing for medical tourism projects and launching a for-profit subsidiary. In 2012 it launched a commercial subsidiary, HealthConnect, as a joint venture with SK. The venture aims to provide healthcare services based on information technology, was criticized for being illegal. No public hospital was allowed to run commercial businesses back in 2012, according to the nation’s Medical Act. The hospital and the Health Ministry have been arguing that the subsidiary was launched based on the Establishment of the SNUH Act, a special law that is independent from the Medical Act. Inspectors from the National Assembly recently concluded that the SNUH is categorized as a public institution and it was illegal for the hospital to establish the for-profit business.

So the government brought in new law in June that public and private hospitals and clinics will be allowed to open meditels- hotels for foreign medical tourists, within the hospital grounds from August 2014. They will also be able to run facilities such as fitness centres.