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If a treatment goes wrong in Korea, there is a formal, government-run path to a resolution that doesn’t require a lawsuit: the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency, known as K-MEDI. It’s open to foreign patients, it’s inexpensive to file with, and a successful mediation carries the same legal weight as a court settlement. It also has a structural weak point that matters specifically for cosmetic and dermatology cases, and most foreign patients never learn about it until they need it.
How the process works, and what it costs
Filing costs 22,000 won for smaller claims, with the fee scaling up for larger claim amounts — for example, a 10 million won claim carries a 32,000 won filing fee. Fee waivers exist for recipients of basic livelihood support and national merit recipients, with discounts for people with disabilities. Applications can be submitted online, in person, or by mail or fax, and the case is formally registered within one to two business days after the fee is paid.
Once filed, the law sets a target processing window of 90 days, extendable by 30 more — a maximum of 120 days — though time spent gathering documents or waiting on medical assessments doesn’t count against that clock, so real cases can run longer.
The scenario that determines whether you get a hearing at all
This is the part that matters most. Under the law governing the system, mediation proceedings start automatically — without the clinic’s agreement — only in three situations: the patient died as a result of the treatment, the patient has been unconscious for one month or longer, or the patient suffered a severe, legally defined disability. That automatic-start rule has applied since November 30, 2016.
Outside those three scenarios — which cover the large majority of cosmetic and dermatology complaints, since these procedures are rarely fatal or disabling — the clinic has to actively agree to participate. If the clinic doesn’t respond within 14 days of being notified of the complaint, the case is dismissed and the process ends there. There is no requirement that a clinic explain its refusal, and no mediation happens without it.
What this means in practice
If your complaint involves a botched injectable, an unexpected scar, or a billing dispute — the overwhelming majority of what foreign patients report — K-MEDI can still hear your case, but only if the clinic chooses to show up. A non-response is functionally the same as a refusal, and it costs the clinic nothing.
This doesn’t make the process pointless. Filing creates an official record, costs very little, and a clinic that’s confident it did nothing wrong often has more incentive to participate than one that doesn’t. But it’s worth going in with an accurate picture: for most cosmetic-treatment disputes, K-MEDI is a channel that requires the other side’s cooperation, not a guaranteed hearing.
Figures on filing fees, processing timelines, and the automatic-initiation rule are drawn from the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency’s own published procedure guidance and legal-practice summaries of the underlying statute.
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