The National Health Insurance Service wants more long-term foreign residents to know they can get coverage.

Under chapter 109 of the National Health Insurance Act, long-term foreign residents can qualify for workplace insurance subscription or dependent eligibility as any South Korean national.  

The public agency said Friday it's going to step up outreach efforts to foreign residents, who can apply for coverage three months after arriving in the country.

Foreign students and foreign spouses can apply immediately from the day of their entry. 

As of late August, there were more than one-point-49 million foreign nationals in South Korea.

Only about 56-point-eight percent of those, or 848-thousand people, are enrolled in the National Health Service.