Anchor: The government will introduce new rules for national healthcare enrollment, including an exemption for international students studying in Korea until 2021 with subsidized subscription costs for them thereafter. However, universities remain concerned that the new rule may force burdensome cutbacks for students.
Park Jong-hong has this report.

Report: Foreign nationals and Korean citizens residing abroad will be required to enroll in the state health insurance program after six months in Korea, beginning July 16th.

But international students studying in Korea will be exempt from mandatory enrollment until February 2021.

The Health and Welfare Ministry made this announcement on Wednesday, adding that it will gather public opinion until early next month. 

Presently, foreign nationals not insured by their workplace are allowed to voluntarily subscribe to cheaper health insurance programs for the duration of their stay. The mandatory enrollment would mean a minimum payment of about 113-thousand won, or 98 U.S. dollars, every month. 

Critics contended that visitors to Korea had abused the system by benefiting from inexpensive enrollment fees to receive expensive medical services, the costs of which were deferred to the state.

These incidents have prompted the government to implement mandatory state health insurance enrollment for foreign nationals and non-resident Koreans staying in the country for more than half a year.

But universities are concerned with the move. They argue that while international students will receive up to a 50 percent discount on monthly fees, a monthly premium of almost 50 dollars will nonetheless be a burden.

They claim that students who are studying on scholarship in Korea will be forced to cut back on living costs.
Park Jong-hong, KBS World Radio News.