South Koreans spent an average of more than 1 million won ($930) on medical treatment last year, according to data released Tuesday.
The National Health Insurance Service said that some 50 million public insurance subscribers spent about 51 trillion won for medical purposes, up 6.5 percent year-on-year. This means that each Korean paid an average of 85,000 won per month for health care.
People over the age of 65 spent about 19 trillion won, accounting for 35.4 percent of the total medical spending. Their average medical costs were three times higher than those of under-65s.
About 8 percent of all medical fees were paid to the five largest hospitals in Seoul.