A plan to grade domestic health insurances to foreign hospitals within Economic Free Zones such as Incheon, Pusan and Gwangyang, for foreign investors usage is being reviewed. 
An authority of the Economic Free Zone Planning Committee announced on Oct. 20, “a plan to grade the application of domestic health benefits on foreign hospitals within the Economic Free Zone is currently under review.” 
He add, “since foreign hospitals are less crowded than domestic hospitals and too much expense is used to employee high league medical staff, insurance for foreign hospitals must be graded differently with that of domestic hospitals. 
He also added, “Hospitals for foreigners are only for foreigners but it is useless to prevent natives from receiving medical treatment in foreign hospitals. However, if natives are to go to foreign hospitals the hospital will at least receive actual costs for its services.” 
If native usage of foreign hospitals increases, then domestic hospitals will suffer from loss. But if the government permits profit-making hospitals to prevent domestic hospitals from loss, overall medical care costs will rise. 
The authority added, “We will have to wait until 2008 for the 0fficial operation of the Economic Free Zone. Till then many alternative plans must be solved with the Ministry of Health and Welfare.” 

Source : Yonhap News Agency, Oct. 20, 2003