General healthcare spending in South Korea jumped by 6.8% on average each year between 2005 and 2015, according to a report released in May by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs.
The spending, fueled by an aging society, a fast growing private commercial health insurance market, and corresponding government investment in the country’s acclaimed national health insurance system, far outpaced average growth rates among member countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
General medical expenses in Japan during the same period grew by 2.6% annually, in the United States by 3%, and in Germany by 2.3%.