Foreign residents' Korean health insurance surplus tops 1 trillion won

South Korea's health insurance balance for foreign subscribers posted its first surplus above 1 trillion won in 2025, according to local reports citing National Health Insurance Service figures submitted to parliament. Yonhap reported on October 25 that premiums totaled 2.537 trillion won and benefit spending was 1.5243 trillion won. The overall foreign-subscriber balance has remained in surplus since 2017. [ 1 , 7 ]

Chinese subscribers recorded a 40.9 billion won deficit, with premiums of 956.4 billion won and benefits of 997.3 billion won. That followed a 5.5 billion won surplus in 2024. Vietnamese subscribers recorded the largest national-group surplus at 160.1 billion won, followed by Nepalese subscribers at 126.2 billion won. Most of the ten leading national groups recorded surpluses. [ 1 , 7 ]

Hankook Ilbo quoted the health ministry as saying Chinese subscribers include a larger proportion of older people, while subscribers from other countries are more often of working age. CBS NoCut News cautioned that national balances alone cannot establish abuse of the insurance system, because contributions and balances also differ by enrollment category. Yonhap gave the overall surplus as 1.0128 trillion won, while Hankook Ilbo reported about 1.0127 trillion won. [ 1 , 10 , 13 ]

Some politicians have advocated linking foreign residents' benefits to the coverage their home countries offer Koreans. Newsis reported that the government remains cautious because of discrimination concerns, trade rules and possible diplomatic friction. Seoul Shinmun said eligibility rules have already been tightened: mandatory enrollment for foreigners staying at least six months began in July 2019, and a six-month residence requirement for dependent enrollment was introduced in April 2024. Identity checks at medical facilities became mandatory in May 2024. [ 6 , 7 ]