South Korea's well-coiffed president is on a mission to help the country's balding residents. In his crosshairs: the national health insurance scheme, which he suggests should foot the bill for hair loss treatments.
President Lee Jae Myung made the suggestion to officials at a briefing on this week, arguing that medical treatments for hair loss used to be seen as cosmetic, but now they are viewed as a matter of survival.
South Korea's national health insurance currently covers treatments for hair loss caused by medical conditions. However, it excludes people with hereditary hair loss because that does not threaten someone's life, health minister Jeong Eun-kyeong explained at the meeting on Tuesday.
Is it just a matter of whether to define hereditary disease as a disease? Lee asked in response.
Lee's proposal has earned him praise among social media users, one of whom called him the best president in history. However, not everyone is as enthused - not even those who stand to benefit from subsidised hair loss treatment. The move feels a bit like a vote-grabbing policy, says Song Ji-hoon, a 32-year-old Seoul resident who takes hair loss medication.
In South Korea, a country notorious for its strict beauty standards, baldness comes with a stigma that can prove especially troubling for young people. Out of 240,000 people in the country who visited hospitals for hair loss last year, 40% were in their 20s or 30s.
Lee's proposal also draws criticism for its timing, given the existing issues within South Korea's healthcare system, which suffers from a significant financial deficit. Some argue that funds would be better allocated to more pressing health issues.
As Lee Jae Myung continues to advocate for this controversial proposal, the balance between personal wellness, healthcare funding, and the societal beauty standards remains a divisive topic in South Korea.
