Complaint or dispute: which door?

Medical Korea's brochure "For Foreign Patients Medical Dispute Resolution Guidelines" (six pages, English) sorts problems into two kinds and sends each to a different place.

	Medical complaint	Medical dispute
What the brochure includes	Dissatisfaction before or after treatment, miscommunication, and money issues such as billing, refunds and deposits	Death or bodily injury from a medical incident, and the disagreement that follows
Where to go	Medical Korea Information Center (run with KHIDI)	K-medi: mediation and arbitration
Phone	+82-2-1577-7129	+82-2-1670-2545
Languages	English, Chinese, Japanese, Russian	Web pages in English and Chinese; forms in Korean

According to the brochure, K-medi handles only harm to life, body or property from medical acts, such as diagnosis or treatment, by licensed professionals at healthcare institutions. It excludes incidents at non-medical facilities such as postpartum care centres and nursing homes, procedures by unlicensed people, and dissatisfaction with a process or result that has nothing to do with physical injury or bodily health. The Act defines a medical accident in a similar way: harm to a person's life, body or property caused by diagnosis, tests, treatment, prescribing or dispensing by a health professional.

The brochure does not say how a poor cosmetic result is treated, so we cannot tell you whether yours counts. K-medi's counselling line can. If your problem is a bill, a refund or a deposit, the brochure treats it as a complaint. See our article on deposits and cancellations.

What to do first

Get any medical care you need. This page covers complaints and disputes only and is not medical advice. In an emergency in Korea, call 119.
Tell the clinic what went wrong, in writing. The brochure lists direct negotiation between patient and provider as the fastest and most amicable route. We suggest a message or e-mail so that you have a dated record. We found no rule that requires it. Keep every reply.
Ask for your papers. A patient may ask to see or copy their own records, and the clinic may not refuse without just cause (Medical Service Act art. 21). For surgery, blood transfusion and general anaesthesia you may also ask for a copy of the signed consent form (art. 24-2). Our article on receipts and medical records explains how.
Do not wait. The government's 1372 consumer centre warns that if you raise a problem long after the treatment, limitation periods and record-retention periods can make proof harder to collect.
Ask for advice if you cannot agree. Call the Medical Korea Information Center for a complaint, or K-medi's counselling line for an injury.

Evidence to keep

Photos from before and after the treatment. The 1372 centre's guide to cosmetic surgery calls them important evidence if a dispute arises.
Receipts, the treatment contract with its expected fee, and every consent form.
A copy of your medical records, and any imaging such as X-ray or MRI.
A written opinion from another doctor on the side effect and on whether further treatment is needed. The 1372 guide advises getting one before you negotiate.
Your messages with the clinic (our suggestion).
K-medi's English page adds proof of income, material from before and after surgery and receipts of medical expenses as papers it may ask for.

What a registered clinic must give you

A clinic that is registered to attract foreign patients must make sure the patient knows three things (Act on Overseas Expansion of Medical Care and Support for Attracting Foreign Patients, art. 8): the diagnosis, treatment method and possible side effects; a treatment contract on the Minister's form with the expected fee; and the dispute procedure if a medical accident occurs. It must also carry medical malpractice liability insurance or belong to the mutual aid association (art. 6). Medical Korea says registered institutions have had to carry the insurance since 2016. Ask for these papers before treatment. Our article on foreign-patient registration explains the system.

Three cautions:

The Act does not say which dispute procedure the clinic must name. K-medi's English home page suggests a contract clause under which both sides try to agree first and then accept K-medi arbitration. An arbitration decision has the effect of a final court judgment, so read any such clause before you sign.
Insurance does not decide your case. The brochure says only that insurers can negotiate settlements on a clinic's behalf.
Registration is not a condition of using K-medi. The Act covers any institution opened under the Medical Service Act.

The Medical Korea Information Center

The health ministry and KHIDI run the centre. It advises foreign patients on complaints and disputes, supports the transfer of a case to K-medi, and takes questions about illegal brokerage. The Medical Korea site lists English, Chinese, Japanese and Russian, plus Korean.

Phone: +82-2-1577-7129, daily 09:00 to 18:00 Korean time on the website.
Seoul desk: level B2 of Seoul Station (Airport Railroad).
Incheon Airport Terminal 1 desk: 1F, Gate 7, daily 09:00 to 21:00, +82-32-743-3506 and +82-32-743-3507.

The brochure and the website differ on two points. The brochure gives the Seoul desk's hours as Monday to Friday, and the website says daily. The brochure lists English, Chinese and Russian for the Incheon desk, with no Japanese, and the website adds Japanese. Call first to confirm the language and the hours. Our article on interpreters and help compares all the help points.

K-medi: how mediation and arbitration work

K-medi is an independent body set up under the Act. Its tasks include mediation, arbitration and counselling for medical disputes, and the appraisal of medical accidents.

Call first. The counselling line is +82-2-1670-2545. Its English page gives weekdays 09:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 18:00, and says consultation is free. K-medi's FAQ says foreigners can use counselling and can apply for mediation and arbitration.
File an application. See the next section. A fee applies.
The clinic decides whether to take part. K-medi sends your application to the clinic, which has 14 days to say it will take part. If it does not, the application is dismissed, your papers are returned and the fee is refunded. Mediation starts without the clinic's consent after a death, unconsciousness of one month or more, or a severe disability set by decree. K-medi says autism and mental disabilities are not covered by that exception.
Appraisal and decision. An appraisal panel of experts in healthcare, law and consumer protection looks at the facts, fault and cause. It reports within 60 days of the start, with one extension of 30 days. The mediation panel then decides within 90 days of the start, with one extension of 30 days, so 120 days at most. Some periods, such as the time needed to diagnose lasting disability, do not count. In setting damages the panel considers your loss, the degree of the clinic's fault and any fault of your own.
Your answer. Each side has 15 days after the decision is delivered to say whether it agrees. Silence counts as agreement. If both agree, the mediation is made and has the same effect as a court settlement. The ministry notes that the same case can then no longer go to court. If either side refuses, the mediation fails and a lawsuit stays open. You can also settle with the clinic during mediation, and a recorded settlement has the same effect.
Arbitration is different. Both sides first agree in writing to accept K-medi's final decision, and the award has the same effect as a final court judgment. It can be requested while mediation is still going on.
If you are not paid. If an agreed mediation, an award or a final judgment of a Korean court goes unpaid, you can ask K-medi's advance-payment system to pay the unpaid amount after a review, and K-medi then recovers it from the clinic. K-medi says the applicant bears no separate cost.

Deadlines. Apply within 3 years of the day you learned of the damage and who caused it, and within 10 years of the act that caused the accident. Applying interrupts the limitation period. If the application is withdrawn or dismissed, you must sue within one month to keep that effect. A lawsuit is also possible without mediation.

One route at a time. K-medi dismisses an application if the same dispute is already in court or has already been filed with the Consumer Dispute Settlement Commission of the Korea Consumer Agency, and if you sue after applying.

Cost. An application fee applies and rises with the amount you claim. Recipients of basic living assistance and persons of national merit are exempt, and disabled people get a reduction. We leave the amounts out because they change; K-medi publishes them. K-medi says that apart from the fee, mediation costs little.

Before you sign a settlement. K-medi's FAQ says that a clause giving up all later claims generally stops you from claiming more, with a narrow exception for after-effects that nobody could have foreseen. Ask what is expected and have it written into the agreement.

Applying from abroad: language, papers and representatives

Where to send it. K-medi's English page says a foreign patient living abroad can apply by e-mail or fax, and one living in Korea can also apply online. The brochure says website, fax or mail, and recommends mail if you have no Korean mobile number, with a Korean mailing address. K-medi's Korean page lists a visit, online filing with identity verification, and mail or fax. The pages differ, so ask K-medi which route fits you.
Language. Forms must be filed in Korean. English and Chinese versions of the forms are on K-medi's site for reference, and anything you write in English needs extra copies in Korean translation. The sources we read mention no Japanese forms.
Papers. The application form and its annex, consent to the collection of sensitive personal information, a copy of your ID, a copy of your bank account, your medical records and imaging. K-medi asks for a Korean bank account for refunds and does not make up losses from international transfers or exchange rates. K-medi may ask for more.
Representatives. The Act lets a person with written authority act for a foreign party. If the applicant is not the patient, add a power of attorney and proof of the relationship. K-medi says a lawyer is not required.
Attendance. The brochure says overseas applicants must travel to Korea unless an authorised representative attends for them. Missing the first session is not treated as a withdrawal, but failing to appear twice is a ground for dismissal.
Interpreting. The brochure says interpretation for K-medi's line is available through the Ministry of Justice hotline 1345. The 1345 centre describes itself as a multilingual desk for foreigners living in Korea, with three-way interpreting for public bodies. It is open on weekdays from 09:00 to 22:00, and after 18:00 only in Korean, English and Chinese. We could not confirm interpreters at hearings, or how the service works for someone abroad. Ask K-medi when you call.
Lawyers. K-medi does not represent people in court. It points to the Korea Legal Aid Corporation (132), the courts and law offices.

Other channels

1372 Consumer Counseling Center. The Fair Trade Commission runs this line for complaints about goods and services, and the call is paid. Its website is in Korean and we found no foreign-language service described. Its guide to cosmetic surgery problems says to bring your records, consent form and another doctor's opinion to a consumer protection body such as the Korea Consumer Agency if you cannot agree with the clinic.
Korea Consumer Agency. Its Consumer Dispute Settlement Commission is a quasi-judicial body, and a mediation that both sides accept is equivalent to a court compromise. K-medi will not take a dispute that is already before it.
1330 Korea Travel Helpline. The Korea Tourism Organization takes tourist complaints at touristcomplaint.or.kr or on 1330 (+82-2-1330 from overseas). Its page does not say that it resolves medical disputes.
Court. A civil lawsuit is open without mediation. The brochure says a claim needs a breach of the duty of care, a breach of the duty to inform, and a causal link between the fault and the harm. It also describes lawsuits as time-consuming and costly, and K-medi says lawsuits take an average of 26.3 months.

A change coming on 27 May 2027

The text of the Act on law.go.kr already includes amendments dated 26 May 2026 that take effect on 27 May 2027. One of them changes article 27(8): the clinic would be treated as taking part unless it tells K-medi within 14 days that it refuses. K-medi's pages still describe the current rule, in which the clinic must agree. Check which rule applies on the date you apply.

What to expect, and the limits of this guide

K-medi's own figures show that mediation does not always start or succeed. In 2024 about two in three applications started mediation, and about two in three started cases ended in agreement. For 2025 K-medi reports 2,605 filings, the most in five years, and a success rate of about 70 percent. The start rate includes automatic starts, and the figures cover all patients, so they say nothing about your case.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Outcomes depend on the facts, and the appraisal looks at fault and cause.
We do not promise compensation, and we do not describe any clinic's cases.
We did not confirm whether K-medi provides interpreters at hearings, whether a poor cosmetic result counts as a medical accident, or whether the 1372 centre offers foreign-language service.

FAQ

Can a foreigner use Korea's medical dispute system?

Yes. The Act says it also applies when a non-Korean claims damages from a healthcare institution for a medical accident (art. 3). K-medi's FAQ says foreigners can use its counselling and apply for mediation and arbitration. Its web pages are in English and Chinese, and the application forms must be filed in Korean.

Does the clinic have to agree to mediation?

Usually yes, for now. K-medi sends your application to the clinic, which has 14 days to say it will take part. Otherwise the application is dismissed and the fee refunded. After a death, unconsciousness of one month or more, or a severe disability, mediation starts without consent. An amendment due on 27 May 2027 makes the clinic a participant unless it refuses within 14 days.

How long do I have to apply to K-medi?

Within 3 years of the day you learned of the damage and who caused it, and within 10 years of the act that caused the accident. Applying interrupts the limitation period. If the application is withdrawn or dismissed, you must sue within one month to keep that effect. Ask K-medi or a lawyer early.

Can I apply from my home country, in English?

You can start from abroad, but the file must be in Korean. K-medi's English page says people abroad can apply by e-mail or fax, and the brochure also mentions mail. English forms need Korean translations, refunds go to a Korean bank account, and you or a representative must attend in Korea. The pages differ on details, so call +82-2-1670-2545 first.

Does it cost money to use K-medi?

K-medi's English page says phone consultation is free. An application costs a fee that rises with the amount you claim. Some groups pay less or nothing, and the fee is refunded in full if the case is dismissed because the clinic does not take part. The amounts change, so check K-medi's fee page. Apart from the fee, K-medi says mediation costs little.

Where do I complain about a bill, a refund or a deposit?

The brochure treats billing, refunds and deposits as medical complaints, not medical disputes. Start with the clinic, then the Medical Korea Information Center on +82-2-1577-7129. The 1372 consumer centre and the Korea Consumer Agency handle consumer disputes, but we found no foreign-language service. Our article on deposits and cancellations covers the rules.

Sources

This page is general information, not legal or medical advice. We read the statutes, the brochure and the agency pages on 29 October 2026. Laws, contact details, hours and fees change, so confirm them with the official sources above.

Treatment went wrong in Korea: complaint, mediation and court options for foreign patients