Do you think there is a special reason why Korea is well-known for plastic surgery worldwide?
I believe there are mainly two factors. One is the surgery result,
and the other factor will be service. For example, there are about
600 ~ 700 plastic surgery centers just in Gangnam area and in order to
survive in this fierce competition, every clinic has to develop a new technique. Because of these efforts, Korea has become the most popular destination for medical professionals to visit and learn. Speaking of service, if you go to hospitals in other countries, they can be inhospitable to patients. You feel the same even
at a hotel, but when they come to the Korean hospitals; they will feel they are treated better than any hotel. Our clinic has many staffs and is well-equipped, so we can attract many international patients. The excellence of Korean plastic surgery was even on the recent CNN article titled “10 Things Korea does better than anywhere else.”Just looking at this, we can say the world agrees on our technique and skills.

What is special about JK Medical Group?
Low fluctuation of surgeon is one of the biggest differences JK has comparing to other clinics. In most cases, doctors choose a large hospital because they want to learn from their superior doctors and open up their own hospital in near future or move to a better workplace. However, when doctors join our center, they select their own specialized field. I received my board certification in 1999. It has been a little over 16 years. When I came to this clinic, I chose to be a breast surgeon and now I only have been doing breast surgery. If I was thinking about opening up my own clinic, I probably had to do surgeries in other areas as well. Because I came to JK, I had an opportunity to become a specialized breast surgeon for past 16 years. Doing so, I had earned the experience and skills within one year, which normally would have took about 5~6 years at other clinics. Before, the system was where one doctor had to cover all possible fields, but now each field is very specialized and the doctor needs to be dedicated in one specialized area to have a competitive advantage. Since JK doctors are specialized in their own fields and they have a dedicated mind, they truly make JK unique.

It seems like JK focus on safety and processthe most. Is there a special reason behind it?
I can say with confidence that we invest a lot in operating rooms. In many cases, clinics tend to pay more attention to areas like lobby, which can easily attract people’s eyes. But, we try to focus on details of operation theaters because our main customer target is the upper class.This group of people is willing to spend more money to travel to Korea for an advanced treatment. Frankly speaking,
even if only 1-2 people from this group come in, it can effectively promote the national interest. In other words, it can bring a more profound financial effect than receiving 100 of ordinary patients. I mean, we should build a country where the upper classes are willing to come. In order to be ready, our facilities and systems are all equipped to maximize their needs.

As the number of international patients increase, more and more hospitals expand their business overseas. I heard JK is also participating actively in international businesses. Could you briefly tell us about your future management plan?
As you mentioned, our clinic has branches in various locations. Also, we are carrying forward several businesses overseas. Our final goal is to make a global network to show the world that the Korean medical technology is the best and make it a powerful national brand. In 2009, Korea first opened its doors to medical tourism. JK was the first medical institution to serve foreign patients and Seoul National University Hospital was next. When we first engaged in global medical tourism, there were many doubts and concerns, but now they have seen what we have achieved in past 2~3 years, a half of them credit our achievement. In addition, we offer a free procedure through “New Face New Dream” charity program using stem cell technology for people in need of advanced treatment. The participants of this programespeciallyremember the warm hearts of JK team on top of the advanced medical technology, luxurious facilities, and high quality service. This project first started as a part of social corporate responsibility, but we also gained many positive effects. It is our goal to create a charity network globally and we will focus on expanding this network as we prosper our medical business across the world.

Do you have anything else you want to share?
Every medical department must comply with tax obligations, but in reality it seems difficult to follow them.But, I can tell you without any hesitation that our clinic is financially clean and honest. All of our staffs share information and we do not have a double accounting system. However, we pay 100% tax, so our profit is rather low. We only have to pay 80%, but we pay all of the taxes and even the National Tax Administration did not believe us at first. The reason that we strive for this policyis to prove that we can succeed while maintaining business transparency. If we continue to do so, I believe other doctors will learn that “it is possible to run a hospital transparently if they are fully equipped with technology and competitiveness.” This will also help them to build a new paradigm and bring a new positive image about doctors and clinics. I believe transparency is an important success factor in business as time passes. It is also our biggest advantage, which sets JK from other clinics.