South Korea’s ruling party presidential candidate has ignited a fierce debate after proposing that the country’s public healthcare insurance should cover hair loss treatment.

韩国执政党总统候选人提出该国的公共医疗保险应涵盖脱发治疗，该言论引发激烈讨论。

Lee Jae-myung, the flagbearer of the Democratic Party, said almost 10 million people suffer from hair loss, but many of them order drugs from overseas or resort to prostate drugs as an alternative due to high treatment costs.
民主党总统候选人李在明表示，近1000万人有脱发困扰，但由于治疗费用高昂，许多人只能从海外订购药物或使用前列腺疾病药物作为替代药。

On Wednesday the politician told reporters that hair regrowth treatments should be covered by the national health insurance program.
李在明1月5日告诉记者，生发治疗应该纳入韩国健康保险计划。

His proposal triggered a flood of messages of support online.
他的提议在网上获得大票支持者。

But Lee’s pledge brought criticism too, with the opposition calling it the latest item on Lee’s populist agenda.
但李在明的竞选承诺也招致了批评，反对派称这是李在明民粹主义的新花招。

There is no official data on how many South Koreans suffer from hair loss.
没有官方数据显示有多少韩国人脱发。

The National Health Insurance Service only provided yearly tallies of people who have received hospital treatment, which was about 230,000 in 2020.
韩国国家健康保险局仅提供了每年住院治疗脱发的人数，2020年约为23万。