The number of medical tourists visiting Korea has been growing exponentially every year, surpassing 1 million last year. The range of services is expanding from plastic surgery and dermatology to dentistry. On the 12th, Lightwood Partners emphasized in its report, "From K-Beauty to K-Medical," that investors should pay attention to stocks related to medical tourism.

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According to data released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of medical tourists increased rapidly from 117,000 in 2020, to 146,000 in 2021, 248,000 in 2022, 606,000 in 2023, and 1.17 million in 2024. As of last year, dermatology accounted for 56.6% and plastic surgery for 11.4%, together making up about 68%. Compared to regular tourists, medical tourists tend to stay longer and spend more, as they combine shopping and sightseeing with their medical procedures.

An entire building in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul is occupied by plastic surgery clinics. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

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President Lee Jaemyung also commented during a cabinet meeting on the 10th, "Foreign plastic surgery tourists stay for two weeks to a month," adding, "While movies and dramas tend to be the focus of K-culture, industries such as food and plastic surgery may actually offer much higher added value." This has been interpreted as a signal that medical tourism should be developed as a national industry, beyond simply attracting tourists.

On the 12th, a plastic surgery clinic is located in a building near Sinsa Station in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

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There are growing expectations in the industry that the value-added tax refund system will be maintained. The special value-added tax refund system for foreign beauty and plastic surgery treatments, introduced in 2016, allows foreigners who undergo beauty or plastic surgery procedures in Korea to receive a 10% tax refund. Industry experts say this system has contributed to attracting foreign patients, given that Korea's medical costs are not cheaper than those in competing countries such as Japan, Thailand, and China. However, controversy arose when the Ministry of Economy and Finance announced plans to end the system at the end of this year. The industry now believes that, following the president's remarks, there is a high possibility that the VAT refund will be maintained.

Kim Hanjin, an analyst at Lightwood Partners, stated, "Companies that can expect direct benefits include those in medical devices, products related to plastic surgery and dermatological procedures, hospital service providers, and cosmetics and beauty device companies." He added, "Marketing and service strategies tailored to the characteristics of patients by nationality are important, and the expansion of medical tourism is likely to directly lead to improved performance for related listed companies."

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APR is expanding its Medicube cosmetics brand and AGE-R beauty devices globally, demonstrating strength in the home beauty device market. Classys, with a high proportion of global exports in specialized medical devices such as lifting and laser equipment, is a direct beneficiary of increased demand for plastic surgery tourism. Wontech, a company specializing in the production of dermatology and beauty medical devices, is also highly sensitive to the increase in foreign patients. PharmaResearch, with its PDRN-based skin regeneration product "Rejuran," is widely used in plastic surgery procedures and skin care.

Hugel, a leading company in the botulinum toxin sector, has a global distribution network and is expected to see improved performance as demand for plastic surgery procedures increases. In the dental field, Osstem Implant (unlisted) and Dentium are representative companies. Dental prosthetics and implants are in high demand among overseas patients, making them beneficiaries of the overall increase in medical tourism. SD Biosensor, which supplies in vitro diagnostic devices to health screening centers, is also expected to benefit indirectly from the growth in medical tourism.