A Chinese Patient in a Coma, 800 Million Won in Treatment Costs, and the Hospital Has Recovered Not a Single Won... Family Says It Cannot Afford the Medical Bills

[Financial News] A hospital in South Korea treated a Chinese patient who entered the country on a tourist visa for more than six years, but it was ultimately unable to recover a single won of the more than 800 million won in medical expenses. The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) said current rules alone are not enough to cover the burden on medical institutions and recommended that relevant ministries establish a system allowing the state to support treatment costs and repatriation for foreign patients without family ties.
According to the ACRC on the 29th, a Chinese national identified as A entered South Korea on a tourist visa in September 2019 and collapsed from a brain hemorrhage while washing dishes for nine days at a restaurant in Ulsan. After being transferred through several medical institutions, A was moved to the intensive care unit of a local hospital in December that year in a coma.
Under the Emergency Medical Service Act and the Medical Service Act, the hospital could not refuse or stop treatment, so it continued caring for A for six years. During that time, unpaid medical bills grew to about 840 million won. A never regained consciousness and died in April this year, six years and four months after being admitted.
A's family, who lived in China, reportedly told the hospital that they could not afford the medical bills for financial reasons and also submitted a waiver of treatment.
Faced with the enormous financial burden, the hospital filed a grievance with the ACRC in July last year.
The ACRC discussed medical cost support and repatriation measures with relevant agencies, including the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ulsan Metropolitan City. However, the issue could not be resolved because no related laws or support systems were in place.
The hospital is still unable to recover the unpaid medical expenses from the government or A's family, according to reports.
To prevent similar cases from happening again, the ACRC urged relevant agencies to establish procedures for repatriating unconscious foreign nationals without family ties or undocumented foreign residents, as well as measures to support unpaid medical bills.
Ulsan Metropolitan City said it will create an administrative support manual for each department, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also plans to strengthen diplomatic support if similar complaints arise.
The ACRC said, "The current system imposes an obligation on medical institutions to treat seriously ill, long-term foreign patients without family ties, but it does not provide support mechanisms for unpaid medical bills or the repatriation process," adding, "If the system is not improved, similar damage is likely to repeat."
[email protected] Ahn Ga-eul Reporter