Key points
- Korea received 2.01 million foreign patients in 2025, Seoul attracted 87.2% of them and 87.7% were seen at clinic-level institutions.6
- Health is sensitive information under PIPA Article 23, processed with consent separate from other consent or where a law allows it, and fines reach 3% of total revenue.1
- The Medical Service Act requires a signed record of each consultation, a separate access log for every amendment to an electronic record and 10 years' retention of medical records.23
- The Framework Act on AI names health care provision as a high-impact area and requires users to be told in advance that a service runs on AI.5
- wai hosts each clinic's records in its own country, under that country's rules. We set this up with your clinic.
Summary
A Seoul clinic can use AI for notes and patient messages in 2026 with separate PIPA consent for health information, advance notice that the service runs on AI, and the signed record and access logs the Medical Service Act requires. The clinician signs every note and the coordinator approves every reply.
A Seoul clinic on wai answers an overnight enquiry from Tokyo or Taipei before the patient wakes, and the visit is booked before they land. The Korean rules on health data, records and AI that frame that work are set out below with their sources.
Part of the JCI hub, with the framework explained, a readiness checklist and 8 guides.
Part of the KOIHA hub, with the framework explained, a readiness checklist and 7 guides.
See it in your clinicThirty minutes on your own patients and doctors.
Request a demoSee an overnight enquiry from a patient abroad become an approved reply and a held appointment by 9am Seoul time, in fifteen minutes with a clinician who uses wai daily.
| Body or law | Rule | What to check | How wai meets it |
|---|---|---|---|
| PIPA Article 23, Personal Information Protection Commission | Health information processed with separate consent or where a law allows it | Where the separate consent is captured and stored | Every booked patient receives an intake questionnaire before the visit |
| PIPA Article 28-8 | Transfer abroad only with separate consent, certification or an equivalence finding | Which country holds every copy, including AI processing | Records hosted in the clinic's own country, set up with the clinic |
| Medical Service Act Articles 22 and 23 | Doctor records and signs, separate access log for every amendment | Every amendment logged with who and when | Every draft, approval and signature logged and exportable |
| Medical Service Act Enforcement Rule Article 15 | Medical records kept 10 years, prescriptions 2 years | How retention and export work at exit | Full export of the record and its log |
| Framework Act on AI Article 31, Ministry of Science and ICT | Advance notice that a service runs on AI, labelling of generative output | Where the notice appears before a patient writes in | The team approves every reply, so the clinic's notice goes out with the first one |
| Protection of Communications Secrets Act Article 14 | No recording of non-public conversations between others | How the patient agrees before the scribe starts | The clinic asks first, using the consent form template, and the clinician signs the note |
The private care market in Seoul
Korea treated 2.01 million foreign patients in 2025, the first year above two million, and Seoul attracted 87.2% of them.6 Clinic-level institutions saw 87.7% of those patients, so the growth sits with independent clinics.6
Dermatology led with 1.31 million patients, 62.9% of the total.6 The Ministry of Health and Welfare estimates foreign patients and their companions spent 12.5 trillion won on medical tourism in 2025, of which 3.3 trillion won went on medical care.6
Every doctor practising here holds a licence from the Minister of Health and Welfare after the national examination, under Article 5 of the Medical Service Act.2
The rules a Seoul clinic works under
The Personal Information Protection Act, enforced by the Personal Information Protection Commission, treats health as sensitive information. Article 23 allows processing only with consent obtained separately from consent for other personal information, or where a law requires or permits it.1 Article 28-8 allows a transfer abroad with separate consent, a recognised certification or a destination the Commission finds equivalent, and Article 64-2 sets fines of up to 3% of total revenue for processing sensitive information without consent.1
The Medical Service Act governs the record itself. Article 22 requires the doctor to record and sign the main symptoms, diagnosis and treatment, Article 23 allows records as electronic documents with an electronic signature, and Article 23(4) requires a separate access log whenever an electronic record is added to or amended.2 The Enforcement Rule sets retention at 10 years for medical records and surgical records, 5 years for the patient register and 2 years for prescriptions.3
The Framework Act on Artificial Intelligence, overseen by the Ministry of Science and ICT, lists the provision of health care among high-impact areas. Article 31 requires an AI business to notify users in advance that a product or service runs on high-impact or generative AI, and to label generative AI output.5
The Protection of Communications Secrets Act, Article 14, bars anyone from recording a non-public conversation between other people.4 The clinician takes part in the consultation and the audio is health information, so the separate PIPA consent is the step to write down, starting from the consent form template.
wai hosts each clinic's records in its own country, under that country's rules. We set this up with your clinic. wai is compliant with these rules and built for clinics in Seoul. The clinician reviews and signs each drafted note, and every amendment is written to a log the clinic can export.
The languages Seoul patients write in
Foreign patients came from 201 countries in 2025. Visits from China rose 137.5% and from Taiwan 122.5%, with Japan, the United States and Thailand next by visitor numbers.6
wai works in any language.7 A coordinator reads and approves each reply before it goes, in the patient's own language.
What a demo shows in Seoul
The demo opens on an email that arrived at 2.10am Seoul time from a patient abroad, asking whether a pigmentation consultation and a follow-up fit into a four-day trip in November. wai reads it in the patient's thread, checks the dermatologist's busy times, finds two open slots and drafts the reply in the language the patient wrote in. At 9am the coordinator checks that it carries the clinic's AI notice and approves it, and the patient has dates before their own working day starts.
In the consultation, the dermatologist edits and signs the drafted note, and the amendment log sits with the record. Bring three real overnight enquiries from last month and watch them run. The guide to after-hours enquiries covers what to measure.
For hospital groups and insurers in Seoul
A Seoul hospital group or insurer can build its own branded service on wai around one clinical pathway, with rights to data, configuration and models set in the contract. The organisations page describes the first steps.
Where to start
First, add a separate PIPA consent for health information and consultation audio to intake, with an advance AI notice that meets Article 31 of the Framework Act.15 Second, get in writing where records are stored and which Article 28-8 ground covers any transfer abroad.1
Third, confirm that the amendment log and the 10-year retention period are in the contract.23 Fourth, count last month's enquiries by language and by hour.
Send us last month's overnight enquiries, and we show the morning they would have produced.
Frequently asked questions
Is health information sensitive data under Korean law?
Yes. PIPA Article 23 names health as sensitive information, processed with separate consent or where a law requires or permits it.1
Can a Seoul clinic's patient data be stored outside Korea?
Only on a ground in PIPA Article 28-8, such as separate consent, a recognised certification or an equivalence finding by the Commission.1 wai hosts each clinic's records in its own country, under that country's rules. We set this up with your clinic.
Does the AI Basic Act apply to a private clinic?
The Framework Act on AI lists health care provision as a high-impact area and requires advance notice to users that a service runs on AI, and wai's approval step lets the clinic's notice go out with the first reply.5
How long must a Korean clinic keep records?
Ten years for medical and surgical records, five for the patient register and test records, and two for prescriptions, under Article 15 of the Medical Service Act Enforcement Rule.3
Can patients write to the clinic in their own language?
Yes. wai works in any language, and a coordinator approves every reply before it is sent.7
Who signs the note an AI drafts?
The doctor. Article 22 of the Medical Service Act requires the doctor to record and sign, and in wai every note stays a draft until the clinician signs it.2
Sources
- 1Korea Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Center, 2026Personal Information Protection Act (개인정보 보호법), Articles 23, 28-8 and 64-2, version in force 11 September 2026Read 14 October 2026Read source
- 2Korea Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Center, 2026Medical Service Act (의료법), Articles 5, 22 and 23Read 14 October 2026Read source
- 3Korea Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Center, 2026Enforcement Rule of the Medical Service Act (의료법 시행규칙), Article 15, retention of medical recordsRead 14 October 2026Read source
- 4Korea Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Center, 2026Protection of Communications Secrets Act (통신비밀보호법), Articles 3 and 14Read 14 October 2026Read source
- 5Korea Ministry of Government Legislation, National Law Information Center, 2026Framework Act on the Development of Artificial Intelligence and Establishment of Trust (인공지능 발전과 신뢰 기반 조성 등에 관한 기본법), Articles 2 and 31Read 14 October 2026Read source
- 6Ministry of Health and Welfare, via KDI Economic Information and Education Center, 20262025 foreign patients pass two million (2025년 외국인 환자 유치 200만 돌파), press release of 24 April 2026Read 14 October 2026Read source
- 7wai, 2026wai changelog, intake answered by voice in any languageRead 14 October 2026Read source
Every overnight enquiry answered by 9am Seoul time.
Fifteen minutes with a clinician who uses wai daily, on your own overnight enquiries. We reply within one working day.
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