Fifteen Checks Before Surgery in Korea

The lobby has marble floors and a framed certificate. Neither tells you whose name goes on your consent form, or who watches your oxygen level while you are asleep.

Work down the table and write each answer in the last column. A check is done when you hold the answer in writing, in a message or a document you can save. What to bring to the consult itself is in our consultation checklist.

What belongs on a pre-surgery checklist for Korea?

How do I check a Korean doctor from abroad?

1. Who operates. Korean law requires written consent before surgery, a transfusion or general anesthesia that could cause serious harm. The doctor's explanation must name the main doctor taking part, and if that doctor changes, the clinic must tell you in writing, with the reason.¹ Get the name before the deposit and match it to the consent form.

2. Their specialty. A license and a specialist title differ. A specialist completes set training and is recognized by the Minister of Health and Welfare, and only a recognized specialist may display a specialty.¹ To check from abroad:

3. Experience in your operation. A specialty is the floor. Ask how many times the doctor has done your operation, and for a revision, how many revisions.

4. Who runs the anesthesia. Ask the type (local, sedation or general), the name of the doctor who gives it, and who watches your monitors while the surgeon operates. In 2010, Korea's Supreme Court held that giving spinal anesthesia is a medical act only a doctor may perform, and that a nurse anesthetist may assist only on a doctor's specific instructions.⁴ The newer Nursing Act lets qualified nurses do clinical support work on a doctor's general direction and delegation, and leaves the exact scope to a decree.¹⁸ General anesthesia falls under the same consent rule as surgery, main doctor's name included.¹ If you want an anesthesiology specialist (마취통증의학과 전문의) there, ask for it in writing.

How do I check the clinic itself?

5. The name and the specialists. Korean rules let a clinic put a specialty into its name only when the doctor who opened it is a specialist, and a department on the sign must carry the word 진료과목.⁵ So "OO성형외과의원" means a plastic surgery specialist opened it, while "OO의원" with "진료과목: 성형외과" only says the clinic offers the department. HIRA, the government's insurance review agency, also publishes each clinic's number of specialists by specialty.⁶ A count is not a name, so do check 2 too.

6. Foreign-patient registration. A clinic that recruits foreign patients must register under Korea's foreign-patient law. Registration requires at least one specialist in each department it recruits for, and malpractice liability insurance or membership of the medical liability mutual-aid scheme. The certificate must hang where anyone can see it.⁷ Ask for a photo. Registration is a legal condition, not a quality rating.

7. Operating room filming. Since September 25, 2023, Medical Service Act Article 38-2 has required clinics that operate on patients under general anesthesia or otherwise unconscious to install CCTV in the operating room and to film the operation if you or your guardian ask.^{1, 8} The request is a form, the 수술 장면 촬영 요청서. A clinic may refuse a request made when filming would stop the operation going ahead as scheduled, such as just before it starts.^{5, 8} File it at the consult and keep a copy. Our operating room CCTV guide covers the rest.

8. The emergency plan. Ask which hospital you would go to if something goes wrong, how you would get there, and who goes with you. ASPS warns that privately run facilities abroad can make the credentials of surgeons and anesthesiologists hard to check.⁹

What should I check before the operation day?

9. The consent form, early. The explanation is the doctor's legal duty, and you may ask for a copy of the signed consent.¹ Ask for the blank form before you travel, in English or with a translation. Compare it with what you were told: the operation, the main doctor, the anesthesia, the care before and after.

10. An interpreter for consent. If the doctor does not speak your language, ask who will interpret at consent, and whether that person is a trained medical interpreter rather than a coordinator who also handles your booking and payment. Korean law lets the health ministry train and test medical interpreters, and the ministry first held a national medical interpretation test in 2016, with a certificate from the minister for those who pass.^{7, 10} In one US emergency department study, professional interpreters made errors with possible clinical consequences less often than ad hoc ones, 12% against 22%.¹¹ The government's Medical Korea Support Center offers interpretation in English, Chinese, Japanese and Russian on weekdays; ask ahead what it can cover.^{12, 13} Medical questions go to the doctor.

11. Your health, in writing. Send the clinic your medications and supplements, allergies, past surgeries, reactions to anesthesia, and conditions. The CDC tells medical travelers to bring copies of prescriptions and a medication list, and to tell staff about allergies.¹⁴ Air travel and major surgery both raise the risk of a blood clot, so if you take blood thinners or have had a clot, see your own doctor first.¹⁵

What money and papers do I need before the deposit?

12. Quote, contract and refund terms. A registered foreign-patient clinic must prepare separately and explain your diagnosis, the treatment method, possible side effects, a treatment contract on the health ministry's standard form, the estimated cost, and the dispute procedure.⁷ Ask for all of it before the deposit, with the refund terms. Our cost guide reads a quote line by line, and our safety guide covers deposits.

13. Insurance. The NHS says travel insurance does not normally cover you if things go wrong in surgery.¹⁵ The UK government tells travelers to declare pending treatment when they buy a policy, because failing to declare something may invalidate it.¹⁶ The CDC advises cover for medical evacuation home and a check of what your own insurer pays for follow-up.¹⁴ Ask the insurer in writing whether complications of a planned cosmetic procedure are covered.

What should I arrange for after I fly home?

14. A flight after the last check. Book the return after both the clinic's last in-person check and the published flying window. The NHS suggests not flying for 5 to 7 days after breast surgery and liposuction, and 7 to 10 days after facial procedures or a tummy tuck; ASPS gives similar ranges.^{15, 9} Your surgeon's date wins. Our stay-length guide works it out by procedure.

15. Records and one contact. Korean law lets you ask for copies of your records, and the clinic may not refuse without a valid reason.¹ The CDC says to get them before you return home, translated if needed, and to arrange follow-up care at home before you travel.¹⁴ Ask for the operative note, the anesthesia record, the materials used and your medication list, plus one named channel for questions after you leave.

Which Korean words should I look for?