Govt cracks down on plastic surgery industry to protect tourists

The Republic of Korea announced on Friday a crackdown on illegal brokers and unregistered clinics in a bid to protect medical tourists, especially those drawn by the country's booming plastic surgery industry.

The Health Ministry unveiled a raft of measures drafted in response to a growing number of complaints over botched jobs and exorbitant billing, many of them filed by Chinese women who traveled to the ROK for cosmetic procedures.

A 50-year-old Chinese woman was left in a coma late last month after undergoing a procedure at a plastic surgery clinic in the upmarket Seoul district of Gangnam.

"Market-disturbing activities involving illegal brokers and inflated fees, as well as disputes over malpractice, are sparking complaints from foreign patients," the ministry said in a statement.

The number of foreigners traveling to the ROK for medical treatment has been increasing by an average 37 percent a year since 2009 and totaled more than 210,000 in 2013.

Many of those came for cosmetic treatment, ranging from relatively straightforward procedures like unwanted hair removal and double-eyelid surgery, to highly invasive jaw surgery.

The ROK, and particularly Seoul, has an international reputation for plastic surgery, and adverts featuring famous surgeons and giant before-and-after photos are omnipresent - on street billboards, subway trains, bus stops and the backs of bus seats.

According to the Health Ministry, more than 25,400 Chinese came for cosmetic treatment in 2013, an increase of 70 percent from the previous year, with each one spending an average of $3,150.