According to a February 20 report by Park Yoon-Ok, assembly member of the Saenuri Party, the incidence of male subfertility increased 67 percent over eight years while the cases of female subfertility increased 7 percent.(image:KobizMedia/KoreaBizwire)
SEOUL, Feb. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of individuals with subfertility increased 16 percent from 178,000 in 2007 to 208,000 in 2014, despite the Korean government’s continued efforts to expand health care services including subfertility treatments.
According to a February 20 report by Park Yoon-Ok, assembly member of the Saenuri Party, the incidence of male subfertility increased 67 percent over eight years while the cases of female subfertility increased 7 percent. The number of Korean males affected with subfertility was 28,000 in 2007, and more than doubled to 44,000 in 2014. The number of females with subfertility increased from 149,000 in 2007 to 156,000 in 2014.
According to Park, the amount of the Korean government’s spending on subfertility treatments also increased from 21.6 billion won (US$ 19.4 million) in 2012 to 24.9 billion won (US$ 22.4 million) in 2014. However, the increase in governmental spending did not result in substantial changes for couples affected with subfertility as the treatments for subfertility cost particularly high.
By M.H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
