Aging population will drive growth of South Korea's health care industry, which will reach over $130 billion in 2014

Combined sales of prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines in South Korea reached 13,330 billion won ($10.45 billion) in 2009, according to Business Monitor International, which points out that its first-quarter 2010 update of the market now using information provided by the Korea Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (KPMA) and macroeconomic data from its own country risk team.

Through to 2014 and 2019, BMI is forecasting respective compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) of 11.35% and 7.49% for total pharmaceutical sales in local currency terms.

A key driver of health care spending in South Korea is the aging population. According to the United Nations Population Division, the percentage of people aged over 65 is forecast to increase from 9.3% of the population in 2005 to 15.4% in 2020. Over the same period, the median age will rise from 35.0 to 43.2. More elderly people will mean greater spending on pharmaceuticals, medical devices and other forms of health care. Other increasingly important components affecting health care expenditure include irrational prescribing and the development of medical technology such as fully computerised patient records.