Paying at a Korean Clinic as a Foreign Patient: Card or Cash, Deposits, Receipts for Insurance, and the VAT Refund in 2026

Medical fees at Korean clinics are usually paid by credit card or in Korean won cash. Three checks before you fly make the day of treatment much easier: whether the clinic accepts your card, how a deposit is handled if you change your dates, and whether you can get the documents you need for an insurance claim back home in English. The tax refund that used to return VAT to foreign tourists on cosmetic and plastic surgery treatment is limited by law to treatment "received by December 31, 2025," so as of October 2026 it does not apply to new treatment.

Mediport is not a medical provider, and it is not a financial institution or a tax agent. This guide sets out the order in which to prepare payments and paperwork; it does not cover amounts or exchange rates. Medical fees are set by the medical institution, and Mediport does not set or compare prices. The law described here is the text in force as checked on Korea's National Law Information Center (law.go.kr) on October 30, 2026, and the details will change if the law changes.

What to check before you pay, at a glance

Splitting the checks into when you book, before you fly, on the day you pay, and after you pay makes it less likely that something slips.

Card or cash: how to pay medical fees

The Korea Tourism Organization says most businesses in Korea, including hotels, department stores and ordinary shops, accept credit cards, and that Visa, Mastercard, American Express and others can be used. The same guide notes that some shops may not accept cards and suggests checking in advance. Clinics are no different. When you book, ask whether you can pay with your card's network, and bring a second card on a different network so you have a fallback if one is declined.

Your card issuer's settings are also worth checking before you fly. If overseas payments are blocked, or your daily or per-transaction limit is low, a payment for treatment may be declined. Tell your card issuer you will be using the card in Korea and confirm your limits. Some issuers send a verification text or app notification when you pay. If you take out your usual SIM and use a different one in Korea, you will not receive texts sent to your usual number, so ask your issuer whether you can switch verification to app notifications.

When you pay with a foreign card, the terminal may ask whether to charge in won or in your home currency. Visa calls this conversion into your home currency Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) and explains that it includes an exchange rate and an extra fee. The same guidance says the choice belongs to the cardholder, the merchant must not make it for you, and if the information you need is not shown or you feel pressured to pick one option, you should decline and report it to your card issuer. Which option suits you depends on your card issuer's terms, so ask your issuer before you travel. Mediport does not compare exchange rates or cards.

If you plan to pay cash, you will need Korean won. The Korea Tourism Organization advises exchanging foreign currency at banks or licensed exchange offices, and notes that banks usually open on weekdays from 09:00-16:00, though hours vary by bank and region. Incheon Airport has bank branches and exchange counters you can use as soon as you land; they usually operate from 06:00-22:00, and some are open 24 hours. If you pay cash, make sure you get a receipt on the spot. Paying by card also leaves a record on your card statement, which is useful when you file an insurance claim.

Deposits and prepayment: terms before amounts

Some clinics take a deposit to confirm a booking or ask you to pay before treatment. Whether a clinic takes a deposit, and how much, is up to the clinic. What you should look at before confirming is the terms, not the amount. Send these questions at the booking stage.

• Is the deposit deducted from the treatment fee, or paid separately?
• If you change or cancel your dates, by when, and how is it handled?
• If you decide not to go ahead with treatment after the tests on the day, what happens?
• How can you pay from abroad (a card payment link, a bank transfer and so on), and is the payee the clinic itself?
• Will you get a receipt or confirmation after you pay?

Get the answers in a form that leaves a record, such as a message or an email. If the payee's name is not the clinic's, it is safer to confirm the reason once more through the clinic's official contact details. If you pay a deposit, keep that receipt together with your treatment receipts.

The deposit belongs with the quote. Questions to check alongside it, covering what is and is not included, follow-up visits and the fees if the plan changes, are in Got a Quote from a Korean Clinic? 6 Things to Check Before You Confirm.

Receipts and billing documents: if you plan to claim on insurance

Which documents an insurance claim needs varies by insurer and by policy. So the order is to get your insurer's list of documents before you fly, and then request documents from the clinic to match that list. The US CDC says the expense of procedures abroad is usually paid out of pocket and that insurance commonly does not cover it. If the treatment is cosmetic, first check with your insurer whether it is covered at all. The same CDC guidance recommends asking for English copies of your medical records from abroad and getting your complete records before you return home.

A medical certificate is written by the doctor who examined you in person (Korea's Medical Service Act, Article 17). You can ask to view your own medical records or get copies, and a medical institution cannot refuse without a legitimate reason (Medical Service Act, Article 21). Article 45 of the Medical Service Act requires medical institutions to post their fees for issuing certificates and prohibits charging more than the posted amount. Whether English versions are available, and how many days they take, varies by clinic, so ask about this when you book.

Insurers match documents by name. Ask the clinic to spell your name in English on every document exactly as it appears in your passport. Checking on the spot that the treatment date is the same on every document also cuts down on having to request them again later. Documents you will need for follow-up care at home, such as your medical records and medication details, are covered separately in The Records to Take Home With You.

VAT refunds on cosmetic and plastic surgery: not available in 2026

Article 35 of Korea's Enforcement Decree of the Value-Added Tax Act excludes plastic surgery such as double eyelid surgery and nose surgery, and treatments such as melasma and acne treatment, hair removal and skin whitening, from VAT-exempt medical services. That means VAT may be included in the fees for these treatments.

The scheme that used to return this VAT to foreign tourists is the special VAT refund for cosmetic and plastic surgery medical services received by foreign tourists, set out in Article 107-3 of Korea's Restriction of Special Taxation Act. It was introduced at the end of 2015 and extended several times, but the text in force, as checked on the National Law Information Center on October 30, 2026, limits it to medical services "received by December 31, 2025." Treatment received in 2026 is not eligible for this refund. The same article requires a refund to be claimed within three months of the date of treatment, so the deadline has also passed for treatment received in 2025.

There are reports that a bill to reinstate this special refund was introduced in the National Assembly in August 2026. As of October 30, 2026, however, the text of the law has not changed, and if the refund does return, the start date and eligibility will be set anew. Travel guides and blog posts written before 2026 may still say that medical services qualify for a refund. Do not build your plans around a refund; check with the clinic just before your visit whether anything applies now.

The tax refund on shopping (tax-free shopping) is a separate scheme. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, the goods must be bought at a participating tax refund store, you need a separate tax refund slip in addition to the receipt, and medicines are excluded. Whether something you buy at a clinic or pharmacy qualifies depends on whether the place is a participating store and whether the item is a medicine, so ask on the spot.

On the day you pay, in this order

On the day of treatment, you will usually be paying after your consultation and treatment, when you are tired. Deciding the order in advance makes it less likely that something slips.

Once you are home, check the entries on your card statement against your receipts. If anything differs, contact the clinic using the receipt as your reference.

What Mediport does

Mediport is a government-registered foreign patient facilitator in Seoul (registration number A-2026-01-01-07030, Portzone Co., Ltd.). We do not set or negotiate medical fees, and we do not compare exchange rates or cards. At the booking stage, we ask the clinic, in the language you are comfortable with, which payment methods it accepts, the terms of any deposit, and which documents you will need after you return home and whether they are available in English, and we put the answers together for you. Send us the list of documents from your insurer and we will request them from the clinic to match it. You can reach us through messaging apps such as LINE or WhatsApp. For final decisions on tax and insurance claims, check with the relevant authorities and your insurer.