Patients visiting medical facilities are required to present their ID cards to receive health insurance coverage beginning Monday.
The tightened rule, which goes into effect Wednesday, comes as some foreigners have reportedly exploited the nation's health insurance system.
Political parties in Korea are proposing major policies to appeal to the older generation ahead of the April general elections.
Beginning in April, foreigners and Koreans living abroad must reside in Korea for at least six months to be registered as dependents of an insurance subscriber.
A majority of foreign dependents subscribed to Korea’s national health insurance were Chinese, data showed.
Beth Wordley, a 21-year-old exchange student at the Seoul National University, did not know she would be automatically registered for the national health insurance upon her arrival in Korea.
President Yoon Suk-yeol took aim at healthcare "freeloaders," saying that the overly generous benefits offered first under the previous administration had to be scaled back to prevent fraud and waste.
Foreign dependents might soon have to live in Korea for at least six months to be covered by the health insurance of a relative working for a local company.
A person visits a pharmacy on Monday. Expenses for medicine in Korea, which are partially covered by the country's health insurance, increased by 6.7 percent on average over the past seven years.
BTS member Jimin was belatedly found to have had his residence seized earlier this year due to his unpaid health insurance.
Korea JoongAng Daily Sitemap
