South Korea's health authorities have launched emergency measures as the number of public health doctors has plummeted due to training disruptions for medical residents and education gaps for medical students stemming from the ongoing conflict between the government and medical community.
The government plans to prioritize deploying public health doctors to medically underserved areas while expanding mobile clinics and telemedicine services to minimize healthcare gaps in rural and fishing communities.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 13th that it would establish and implement measures including concentrated deployment to medically vulnerable areas and reorganization of regional healthcare systems, citing growing concerns over deepening regional medical gaps as public health doctor numbers decline sharply.
Public health doctors have traditionally been assigned to rural health centers lacking private medical facilities, providing primary care services. However, their numbers have dropped sharply due to multiple factors including demographic changes from low birthrates and an aging population, the gap in service periods compared to active-duty soldiers, and an increasing proportion of female medical students. The 2024-2025 government-medical community conflict has further strained supply, as more medical students took military leave or enlisted for active duty while residency training programs experienced disruptions.
According to the Ministry, the number of medical public health doctors fell to 593 this year, down 352 (37.2%) from 945 last year. The figure has declined steeply from 2,116 in 2017. Only 98 new doctors joined this year, representing just 22% of the 450 completing their service. The Ministry projects regional healthcare difficulties from the public health doctor shortage will continue until 2031 and has decided to pursue multifaceted measures with local governments.
The Ministry's analysis of healthcare accessibility at the town and township level identified 547 medically underserved areas nationwide—locations without clinics or pharmacies within their administrative boundaries and more than 4 kilometers from the nearest medical facility. Of the 532 community health posts in these areas, 139 with particularly poor access to private healthcare in islands and remote regions will receive priority placement of public health doctors.
The remaining 393 community health posts will undergo functional reorganization considering factors such as population and whether dental or traditional Korean medicine public health doctors are assigned. Plans include deploying community health practitioners—nurses authorized to prescribe certain medications and administer vaccinations—or converting community health posts to community health clinics to provide regular medical services. For 200 community health posts, public health doctors assigned to main health centers will continue conducting periodic mobile clinics while telemedicine and remote consultations will be expanded.
The medical community has positively evaluated the government's commitment to addressing regional healthcare gaps but raised questions about effectiveness. Park Jae-il, president of the Korean Association of Public Health Doctors, said, "The clearest solution to restore the public health doctor supply base is shortening the service period." He added, "The Ministry of National Defense and the Military Manpower Administration, which hold decision-making authority over public health doctor supply, must actively pursue institutional reforms."
