Latest: every figure dated and sourced
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Exosome Treatments Are Everywhere in Korean Skincare. Zero of Them Are FDA-Approved.
No exosome product has FDA approval, Korea’s drug regulator banned the word from cosmetic advertising in 2025, and a Seoul court upheld a doctor’s suspension for injecting one. Here’s what’s actually regulated and what isn’t.
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Korea Has a Free Dispute Process for Medical Complaints. It Only Guarantees You a Hearing in Three Scenarios.
The Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency accepts complaints from foreign patients for as little as 22,000 won. But most cosmetic-treatment disputes can be dismissed if the clinic simply doesn’t respond within 14 days.
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South Korea Doesn’t Require Malpractice Insurance for Clinics. There’s One Exception, and You Can Look It Up Yourself.
General medical clinics in South Korea are not legally required to carry malpractice insurance. Clinics registered to treat foreign patients are — and the registry is public. Here’s how to check before you book.
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Foreign Patients Lost a 10% Discount on January 1. A Bill to Bring It Back Is Stuck in Committee.
South Korea ended its VAT refund for foreign cosmetic patients on January 1, 2026. A bill to restore it was referred to a National Assembly subcommittee on July 29 and has not passed.
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Korean Clinic Complaints Are About Refunds, Not Complications
The Korea Consumer Agency analysed 322 redress applications against cosmetic clinics. Contract disputes outnumbered adverse effects — and the no-refund waiver clinics ask you to sign is treated as void.
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We Read 122 Reviews of Seoul Skin and Aesthetic Clinics. Nobody Said How Long It Lasted.
Not one of 122 English-language reviews said how long the result lasted. None mentioned a consent form, anaesthesia, or a refund. The absences have a documented explanation — and a regulator has already described it.