Is it true that a hospital in South Korea treated an unconscious foreign patient for over six years, yet has not received a single penny of more than 800 million won in unpaid medical bills?
The patient, a Chinese national, entered South Korea on a tourist visa in 2019, worked for nine days, and then collapsed.
After passing through several medical institutions, the patient was transferred to a hospital in a coma three months later.
Under the Emergency Medical Service Act, the hospital was unable to refuse or suspend treatment, continuing to care for the patient for over six years. As a result, the unpaid medical bills have piled up to 840 million won.
The patient's family in China submitted a waiver of treatment, stating they could not pay the medical bills due to financial reasons.
The hospital sought help from the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission last year, and the commission discussed potential solutions with related agencies including the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but no significant progress was made due to the absence of relevant regulations.
Ultimately, the patient passed away in April, leaving the hospital with virtually no way to recover the medical expenses.
To prevent such cases from repeating, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission has recommended that related agencies establish a system to support the repatriation of unclaimed foreign patients to their home countries and handle unpaid medical bills.
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