Can I sue a Korean clinic after I've already flown home?

The law does not stop you, but four separate practical barriers usually do: jurisdiction, representation, the limitation period, and language. See "Why foreign patients cannot use it" above.

What insurance is a licensed facilitator required to carry?

Medical liability cover of at least ₩100 million per year for a clinic and ₩200 million for a general hospital, under Korean regulations for registered foreign-patient facilitators.

Is Lowden & Co itself an insurer?

No. We are not an insurer and do not sell a guarantee. Doing so would be unlicensed insurance under Korean law. We verify the clinic and surgeon, assign you a representative with standing to act, and commit in writing to the remedies set out in your contract; the clinic's statutory cover is the clinic's, not ours.

Recourse · Legal

The law already
protects you. Reaching it is the problem.

Yes, a foreign patient can pursue a malpractice claim in Korea, and a licensed facilitator is required by law to carry insurance that covers it. Under Korean regulations, a registered foreign-patient facilitator must hold medical liability cover of at least ₩100 million per year for a clinic and ₩200 million for a general hospital. The barrier has never been the law. It is that a claimant needs a Korean address, a Korean-language representative, and the ability to be present, none of which a patient who flew home three days after surgery has.

What Korean law requires of a licensed facilitator.

A registered foreign-patient facilitator (외국인환자 유치업) must hold medical liability insurance of at least ₩100 million per year covering a clinic, or ₩200 million covering a general hospital.

PLACEHOLDER: the specific statutory article (조문) establishing this requirement is not yet cited here and must be added and counsel-checked before this figure is relied on. The ₩100M/₩200M figures themselves are as stated in the content spec; the citation to the exact provision is pending.

Why foreign patients cannot use it.

Four separate practical barriers, not a defect in the law itself: jurisdiction (where a claim must be filed), representation (a Korean-language representative with standing to act), the limitation period (the statutory deadline within which a claim must be brought), and language (the process itself runs in Korean). A patient who has already flown home meets all four at once.

PLACEHOLDER: the exact limitation period and its statutory basis are not yet cited here and must be counsel-checked before this section is relied on.

What we assign you before you travel.

A Korea-based address for service, a Korean-language representative with standing to act on your behalf, and a signed written recourse agreement. All three, in writing, before you fly.

The limits.

We are not an insurer and do not sell a guarantee. Doing so would be unlicensed insurance under Korean law. What we do is contractual: we verify the clinic and surgeon, we assign you a representative with standing to act, and we commit in writing to the specific remedies below. The clinic's statutory malpractice cover is the clinic's, not ours; our role is to make it reachable.

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FAQ

Questions about pursuing a claim.

Can I sue a Korean clinic after I've already flown home?: The law does not stop you, but four separate practical barriers usually do: jurisdiction, representation, the limitation period, and language. See "Why foreign patients cannot use it" above.
What insurance is a licensed facilitator required to carry?: Medical liability cover of at least ₩100 million per year for a clinic and ₩200 million for a general hospital, under Korean regulations for registered foreign-patient facilitators.
Is Lowden & Co itself an insurer?: No. We are not an insurer and do not sell a guarantee. Doing so would be unlicensed insurance under Korean law. We verify the clinic and surgeon, assign you a representative with standing to act, and commit in writing to the remedies set out in your contract; the clinic's statutory cover is the clinic's, not ours.