The Ministry of Health and Welfare on Wednesday said that the number of foreign patients treated in Korea in 2011 increased by 50 percent from the previous year, contributing to a 75 percent jump in revenue at the institutions.

According to the ministry’s analysis of 1,383 medical institutions nationwide registered to host and treat foreign patients, 122,297 foreign nationals visited the facilities in 2011, from the previous year’s 81,789. The authorities’ goal for the year was 110,000.

The institutions’ revenue rose from 103.2 billion ($89.5 million) to 180.9 billion won over the same period. The patients spent an average of 1.4 million won, higher than the Korean average of 1 million won.

People from the U.S., Japan, China and Russia topped the patient list with those from the Middle East and Kazakhstan showing remarkable increases, the government said.

The most popular areas of service were internal medicine, dermatology, plastic surgery, family practice and health checkups. Many patients were in their 20s and 30s while those receiving medical checkups were largely over 40.

About 39 percent used top-tier general hospitals followed by 21.1 percent visiting general hospitals and 25.1 percent visiting clinics.

Officials said foreign patient treatment industry will continue to grow this year as aggressive marketing is showing progress and more countries are taking interest in Korean medical technology.

In 2011, the Health Authority-Abu Dhabi agreed on patient referral and transfer to Korea, paid 100 percent by the Arabian government.

“Authorities from Dubai, Oman and Qatar have expressed their willingness to study Korean medical services and make a kind of pact too,” Chung Ho-won, a ministry official, said.

The hosting of foreign patients was selected as one of the country’s new growth engines in 2009 in a bid to promote Korean medicine internationally and boost the industry.

The government has established new visas ― C-3(M) and G-1(M) ― for foreign patients during their stays and formed an arbitrary committee to compensate medical accident victims. The authorities have been supporting medical institutions with overseas marketing and several other deregulating policies.

The grand plan, “Medical Korea,” kicked off with 60,201 receiving medical services in 2009 and amounted to 81,789 in 2010.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)