The South Korean government has announced its intention to terminate the tax refund scheme for cosmetic procedures for foreign tourists.
At designated medical facilities, foreign tourists who undergo procedures such as double eyelid surgery, facial contouring, facelifts, liposuction, hair removal, tattoos, and tattoo removals exceeding 15,000 won are eligible for a 10% Value Added Tax (VAT) refund. This system began in April 2016 and has since been extended multiple times.
According to the South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of foreign patients in 2024 reached 1.17 million. Of these, the highest number came from Japan, with about 300,000 visiting dermatology clinics. South Korea accounts for a quarter of the global cosmetic surgery market, attracting popularity with multilingual support. While younger people have predominantly used these services in the past, anti-aging has become a trend more recently.
South Korea has numerous cosmetic surgery clinics centered in Seoul, boasting technological expertise and competitive pricing, resulting in many patients frequently visiting from Japan via low-cost carriers (LCCs).
Notice
This article was generated using automatic translation by GPT-4 API. The translation may not be accurate.
