May 28, 2015 10:55
The Ministry of Health and Welfare will display fees for plastic surgery in several languages in order to prevent brokers from overcharging foreigners or demanding exorbitant commissions.
The ministry said Wednesday it will seek the cooperation of the Korean Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery to investigate the fees for each procedure and display them in several languages on the website of the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (www.medicalkorea.or.kr).
The information will include the cost of some 45 cosmetic procedures, estimated duration of treatment and recovery period.
For example, the website will show that double eyelid surgery usually costs between W1.2 million and W1.5 million and takes around 30 minutes to an hour, while a week is required for recovery (US$1=W1,106).
The website will also offer a checklist for patients who are considering surgery, including information such as the specialist areas of each clinic, potential risks, and how to determine the success or failure of a procedure.
The measure comes after more than a hundred agents were investigated for pocketing up to 90 percent of cosmetic surgery fees after setting up Chinese tourists with clinics here.
Some of the brokers charged tourists up to 30 times more than the actual price of procedures and pocketed exorbitant commissions on top. A ministry official said, "We have already disclosed the information in Chinese and plan to expand it to English, Japanese, Russian and Arabic next month."
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