By KMedTrip editorial · Updated · Written with AI assistance · Reviewed by KMedTrip native-speaker review team
This guide is general information, not medical advice. KMedTrip is run by a government-registered foreign patient facilitator (an agency that helps international patients arrange medical care). We do not recommend, rank or receive payment from any hospital or clinic.
Key takeaways
In Korea, anyone who brings foreign patients to hospitals or clinics must be registered with the government. Unregistered brokering is illegal.
A broker here means a person or company that brings you to a clinic for money without registration.
Illegal brokers often find patients through social media, messenger apps and “free trip” or “big discount” offers.
Before you pay anything, check the clinic and any agency on the official Medical Korea registry. It is free and takes about five minutes.
Pay the clinic or a registered company, and get a receipt. Avoid cash or transfers to personal accounts.
You can report illegal brokers to Medical Korea. You can take medical disputes to the government’s mediation agency.
How illegal brokering works
Figure 1. A common illegal broker pattern. ① Contact via social media or chat. ② Steering to a clinic. ③ Payment to the broker. ④ Hidden commission. ⑤ No accountability.
What the law says
Korea’s Act on Support for Overseas Expansion of Medical Services and Attraction of International Patients has three key points:
Clinics must register to attract foreign patients.
Agencies (facilitators) must register too.
Registered clinics must carry medical malpractice insurance (insurance that pays if a patient is harmed by a medical mistake), among other rules.
Attracting foreign patients without registration can be punished by up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won (the Act, Art. 28, law.go.kr, checked Oct 2026).
Who is an illegal broker?
An illegal broker brings foreign patients to clinics without registration, or gives false information about a registration. They may call themselves a “consultant,” “agent,” “influencer,” “coordinator” or “friend.”
A common pattern
Contact via social media or chat. The broker reaches you through social media, a chat app, a forum or a tour group. They may offer free consultations or “special prices.”
Steering to a clinic. They choose the clinic for you. You may not learn the clinic’s real name until you arrive.
Payment to the broker. They ask you to pay them, not the clinic. Often it is cash or a transfer to a personal account.
Hidden commission. Part of what you pay goes to the broker as a fee. This can make treatment more expensive, not cheaper.
No accountability. If something goes wrong, the broker is hard to reach. You may have no proof of what you paid or agreed.
Brokers may also push you to add extra procedures, rush your decision, or skip proper consultation and recovery time.
Warning signs
Figure 2. Ten warning signs. ① Not on Medical Korea registry. ② No full clinic name and address. ③ Prices far below normal / free trips. ④ Pressure to decide fast. ⑤ Cash, personal account, messenger or crypto. ⑥ No written quote or receipt. ⑦ Promises of no risk or guaranteed results. ⑧ Before-and-after photos and reviews. ⑨ Told not to contact the clinic. ⑩ Untruthful visa help.
Be careful if you see any of these:
Not on the Medical Korea registry, or they will not give you a registration number.
No full clinic name and address before you travel.
Prices far below normal, or “today only” deals, free flights, free hotels or gifts.
Pressure to decide fast, or to book several procedures together.
Payment in cash, to a personal bank account, through a messenger app or in cryptocurrency.
No written quote or no receipt.
Promises like “no risk,” “no pain” or “guaranteed results.” No honest medical provider can promise this.
Before-and-after photos and “patient reviews” used to sell you a specific clinic. Medical advertising is regulated in Korea, and these are common in illegal promotion.
You are told not to contact the clinic directly, or they handle all communication and interpretation themselves.
Untruthful visa help, for example listing a different purpose of visit on your application.
One warning sign alone does not prove a scam. But two or three together are a strong reason to stop and check.
Safer ways to contact clinics directly
Figure 3. Seven safer steps. ① Find the clinic on the registry. ② Use the registry contact details. ③ Check any agency too. ④ Get a written itemized quote. ⑤ Ask who performs the treatment. ⑥ Pay clinic or registered company directly. ⑦ Keep copies of messages and receipts.
You do not need a broker to contact a Korean clinic. Follow these steps:
Step
What to do
Where
1
Find the clinic on the registry. Search by name or phone number and check the address.
medicalkorea.or.kr/en/registeredhospitals (free, about 5 minutes)
2
Use the registry contact details. Each listing shows an international patient contact (phone, email or fax).
The registry listing, not only social media
3
Check any agency too. Compare the company name, address and phone number.
medicalkorea.or.kr/en/registeredfacilitators
4
Get a written, itemized quote (a price list showing each item), plus refund and cancellation rules.
By email from the clinic
5
Ask who performs the treatment, their specialty and what aftercare is included.
During consultation
6
Pay the clinic or registered company directly, preferably by card. Keep every receipt.
At the clinic
7
Keep copies of messages, the quote, consent forms and receipts.
Your phone and email
Need an interpreter? Ask the clinic whether it has an international patient desk or interpretation service.
Need help in person? The Medical Korea Information Center has desks at Seoul Station (B2, Airport Railroad, daily 09:00–18:00) and at Incheon Airport Terminal 1, on the 1st floor near exit 7 (daily 09:00–21:00, +82-32-743-3506 or +82-32-743-3507) (Incheon Airport and Medical Korea, checked Oct 2026). Hours can change, so check before you go. See our guide on using medical interpreters for language help.
Where to report problems
Figure 4. Where to go for each problem. ① Illegal brokers: Medical Korea report center / 1577-7129. ② Medical disputes: K-medi 1670-2545. ③ Travel help: 1330. ④ Crime or fraud: 112.
Quick contact list
Problem
Where to go
Contact
① Illegal brokers or unregistered clinics
Medical Korea report center
medicalkorea.or.kr/kmediwatch/en; info line +82-2-1577-7129
② Medical disputes
Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency (K-medi)
Phone numbers: Medical Korea and K-medi official sites; 1330 from VISITKOREA; as of Oct 2026.
① Illegal brokers or unregistered clinics
Medical Korea illegal foreign patient attraction report center, run by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI): medicalkorea.or.kr/kmediwatch/en.
What you can report: unregistered activity and false registration information.
What you need: your name and contact details. Anonymous reports are not accepted.
What happens next: results are passed to the local government. The city or province may pay a reward, within its budget. For a report about unregistered activity, the reward can be up to 10 million won. The Ministry of Health and Welfare sets the exact amount. No reward is paid for a repeat report of the same case (the Act, Art. 27, and Enforcement Decree, Art. 15, law.go.kr, checked Oct 2026).
Medical Korea Information Center: +82-2-1577-7129, daily 09:00–18:00 Korea time, in English, Chinese, Japanese, Russian and Korean (Medical Korea, as of Oct 2026).
② Medical disputes (if you are harmed or disagree about treatment)
Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency (K-medi):www.k-medi.or.kr/eng. It is a public agency that mediates (helps both sides reach an agreement) in disputes between patients and medical providers.
If you live in Korea: apply online, by email or by fax.
If you live outside Korea: apply by email or fax. To apply by email, send your application documents to [email protected], as K-medi’s email application guide says. The address [email protected] at the bottom of the website is a general contact address (K-medi, checked Oct 2026).
Phone: +82-2-1670-2545. Consultation is free, on weekdays 09:00–18:00 Korea time (K-medi official site, as of Oct 2026).
Fee: 22,000 won if your claim is up to 5 million won. Larger claims have a higher fee (K-medi, as of Oct 2026).
Time: mediation usually takes up to 90 days. It can be extended by 30 days (K-medi, as of Oct 2026).
Language: the K-medi website is in Korean, English and Chinese. Application documents must be in Korean, or in English with a Korean translation (K-medi, as of Oct 2026).
1330 Korea Travel Helpline (Korea Tourism Organization): travel information and interpretation by phone or chat. It is open 24 hours in Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese. Russian, Vietnamese, Thai, Malay and Indonesian are available 08:00–19:00 (district and city government pages, as of Oct 2026). From abroad, dial +82-2-1330. Online calls over Wi-Fi are free; normal calls cost the usual phone rate (VISITKOREA, as of Oct 2026).
④ Crime or fraud involving money
Call 112 (police) in an emergency.
You can also contact your country’s embassy in Seoul for consular help (help for citizens abroad). Find its phone number on your foreign ministry’s website before you travel.
Frequently asked questions
Is it illegal to use a medical agency in Korea?
No, if the agency is registered with the government. Using an unregistered broker is risky, and unregistered brokering is illegal.
How do I check if an agency is registered?
Search its name or phone number under Registered Facilitators on medicalkorea.or.kr/en. It is free.
A broker offers a free flight and hotel. Is that normal?
No. Free trips and very low prices are common warning signs. Check the registry and ask for a written quote.
How should I pay?
Pay the clinic or a registered company directly, preferably by card. Avoid cash, personal accounts, messenger payments and cryptocurrency.
Can I report a broker anonymously?
No. Medical Korea’s report center needs your name and contact details (as of Oct 2026).
What if something goes wrong after treatment?
Keep all records. Contact the clinic first. You can apply to K-medi for mediation (+82-2-1670-2545). The fee starts at 22,000 won (as of Oct 2026).
If you’d like help planning, you can talk to a coordinator.
Korea Law Translation Center (KLRI), Act on Support for Overseas Expansion of Medical Services and Attraction of International Patients – https://elaw.klri.re.kr (accessed 2026-10)
Act on Support for Overseas Expansion of Medical Services and Attraction of International Patients, Art. 27–28 (Korean) – https://www.law.go.kr/법령/의료해외진출및외국인환자유치지원에관한법률 (accessed 2026-10)
Figure 1. A common illegal broker pattern. ① Contact via social media or chat. ② Steering to a clinic. ③ Payment to the broker. ④ Hidden commission. ⑤ No accountability.
Figure 2. Ten warning signs. ① Not on Medical Korea registry. ② No full clinic name and address. ③ Prices far below normal / free trips. ④ Pressure to decide fast. ⑤ Cash, personal account, messenger or crypto. ⑥ No written quote or receipt. ⑦ Promises of no risk or guaranteed results. ⑧ Before-and-after photos and reviews. ⑨ Told not to contact the clinic. ⑩ Untruthful visa help.
Figure 3. Seven safer steps. ① Find the clinic on the registry. ② Use the registry contact details. ③ Check any agency too. ④ Get a written itemized quote. ⑤ Ask who performs the treatment. ⑥ Pay clinic or registered company directly. ⑦ Keep copies of messages and receipts.
Figure 4. Where to go for each problem. ① Illegal brokers: Medical Korea report center / 1577-7129. ② Medical disputes: K-medi 1670-2545. ③ Travel help: 1330. ④ Crime or fraud: 112.