The Chinese Embassy has warned its citizens visiting South Korea for cosmetic surgery, often referred to as ‘beauty tourists,’ of potential medical disputes.
On the 19th, the Chinese Embassy announced on its official WeChat (微信·Chinese version of KakaoTalk) account, “Recently, many foreigners have come to Korea for cosmetic surgery. Some people have been involved in medical disputes, and there have been occasional cases of surgical failure or even loss of life.”
The Chinese Embassy added that individuals should not blindly trust advertisements, be aware of the risks and after-effects of surgery, choose the right intermediaries, medical institutions, and specialists and that if a medical dispute arises, it should be resolved through arbitration or litigation at the Korean Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency.
Moreover, they advised, “If there are relatively significant changes in appearance after surgery or if you are still in the recovery phase, you should bring proof of surgery to avoid influencing boarding or immigration procedures.”
In response to this statement, Reuters reported, “This comes after a case in November where a woman in her 20s from China died on the 10th after complaining of pain following liposuction surgery at a plastic surgery clinic in Gangnam, Seoul.”
Meanwhile, according to the global research agency Statista, Korea has been the world’s leading medical tourism destination for the last decade, attracting the most foreign patients in the world. The majority of these patients have been confirmed to be from China and the United States.
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