South Korea aims to become Asia’s new medical travel hub

Helped by active government support, a boom in cosmetic surgery and a pool of experienced surgeons, South Korea wants to surpass Singapore, Thailand and India to become Asia's new medical tourism hub. The South Korean government is stepping up efforts to win parliamentary approval of a bill that would legalize profit-oriented medical brokerages linking hospitals and patients. But even without local insurance benefits, foreigners find high-quality services cheaper than in the United States or Japan, said South Korea Health Minister Kim Soung-Yee.