Around 95 percent of AIDS patients received treatments last year, the highest rate achieved by Korea and one of the highest in the world, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said Tuesday.

Korea had maintained a 90 percent treatment rate since 2011 and reached the highest level last year, with 10,795 out of 11,440 infected people receiving treatment, according to KCDC data.

■ Related : Where does Korea stand in ‘90-90-90’ program to eliminate AIDS?

Medical laws here obligate medical institutions and workers to report people infected with HIV or AIDS to local public health centers, which in turn communicate to the KCDC. The community health centers keep track of the infected people by supporting their medical bills, providing consultation services, and linking them with medical institutions.

However, AIDS patients listed on public health records are not obligated to report changes in home address or phone number – a loophole that KCDC cites as a barrier to maintaining contact with reported people. The agency said they were not able to reach 660 reported people last year.

Rep. Kim Seung-hee from the opposition Liberty Korea Party released the report, calling for removing the stigma associated with AIDS.

Kim pointed out that taking antiretroviral medication reduces the risk of infection by 96 percent, and encouraged patients to take advantage of the national and provincial supports that provide AIDS treatment 100 percent free of charge.

The national health insurance system currently covers 90 percent of HIV and AIDS treatment costs. The remaining 10 percent is covered by a local public health center if the patients report their status to health centers.

The lawmaker noted that some had not reported themselves to their local public health center for fear of revealing their diagnosis to others.

“The government has been able to lower the rate of transmission through treatment and maintenance but has yet to change the societal perception of AIDS,” Kim said. “Lowering the rate of transmission by encouraging AIDS patients to get support from public health centers voluntarily is an urgent matter.”

Around 11,439 people were reported to be infected with HIV and AIDS last year, an increase of about 3,500 from 2012, according to KCDC. The number of diagnosed people has increased by around 1,000 annually.

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