Every year, approximately 225,000 people are diagnosed with cancer and 76,000 people die of cancer in Korea. Cancer became the first leading cause of death in Korea in 1983. Cancer mortality has been steadily increasing over the last two decades and cancer deaths accounted for 28.2% of all deaths in 2010, which means that one in every four Koreans becomes a victim of this life-threatening disease.

Stomach, colorectum, lung and liver are four most common primary sites of cancer in Korean men, accounting for almost two-thirds of all cancer burden. Stomach, breast, colorectal, cervix, lung, and liver cancers constitute two-thirds of the total cancers in Korean women.
In contrast to the relatively low cancer incidence reported in Globocan 2002, the overall age-standardized incidence rates (ASR) in Korean men are now higher than the world averages and are similar to those reported in northern Europe. However, Korean women still overall have a ASR similar to the world average and lower than those reported in Europe. In both sexes, ASRs of stomach, colon and rectum, liver, lung and thyroid cancers are higher than the world averages.
Considering the magnitude of the rising incidence and mortality, cancer is currently one of the most pressing public health problems facing Korea, and the ageing of the Korean population will cause these numbers to continue to increase even if age-specific rates remain constant.

Cancer has been the leading cause of death in Korea since the First 10-year Plan for Cancer Control in Korea initiated by the government, the NCC Cancer Control Institute operates and supports the national cancer control programs, including the National Cancer Information Center, Quitline, National Cancer Screening Program, and the Regional Cancer Centers. With the plan's implementation, the 5-year survival rate of cancer patients in Korea has improved to 69.4%.
- Cancer Control Policy in Korea
In response to the growing cancer burden at the government level, the National Cancer Center was founded in March 2000 as a government-funded institution devoted to research, patient care, education & training in cancer. The Cancer Control Act, another important legal framework for controlling cancer in Korea, was legislated in 2003. This law authorizes the Health & Welfare Minister to formulate and implement cancer control programs and promote international collaboration as well. In early 2006, the Second 10-year Plan for Cancer Control in Korea for the next ten years(2006-2015) was forged to strengthen the cancer control efforts at the government level within the following framework: