Foreigners and overseas Koreans entering the country from Wednesday will be eligible for classification as a dependent of a subscriber to employer-sponsored national health insurance, only if they stay for at least six months.

According to the health ministry and the National Health Insurance Service(NHIS), exceptions apply to an insurance subscriber's spouse and children aged up to the age of 18 or those entering with long-term stay visas.

While employer-sponsored subscribers have been permitted to register family members as dependents, so long as they meet income, asset and family support requirements, the system has often been abused due to difficulties in verifying the eligibility fulfillment.

There has also been a discrepancy with the minimum six-month stay requirement applied to foreigners and overseas Koreans seeking local medical insurance.

As of late 2022, there were one-point-32 million foreigners subscribed to the National Health Insurance Service, of which 52 percent were Chinese nationals.

Authorities expect a reduction in state finances of 12-point-one billion won, or roughly nine million U.S. dollars, a year under the changed system.