Plans for SK airport clinic run aground

AQUICK nip and tuck while in transit through Incheon, South Korea – the “world’s capital of plastic surgery”?

The idea might have looked brilliant to the operator of Incheon Airport, the country’s main gateway, looking to add a unique, new feature to its soon-to-be completed passenger terminal. However, doctors and medical professionals seem to think otherwise.

According to data from Incheon International Airport Corp released by Rep Kang Hoon-sik of the Democratic Party of Korea, the airport’s project to set up a 240square-metre cosmetic surgery centre on the third floor of its new terminal slated to open in January has hit a wall, as no doctor has come forward to open a clinic there.

According to the airport’s operator, the plan aimed to attract more foreign patients to the country as well as to the airport, as South Korea has emerged as a medical tourism destination.

But the Korean Association of Plastic Surgeons sent an official request to reconsider the plan, saying the plan lacks understanding of medical treatments and could lead to legal problems.

The Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons echoed the view, adding that the project may not even be lucrative.

Nearly 70 percent of medical tourists visiting South Korea are from Asian countries – including China – who often do not need to transfer flights.