Although approximately 550,000 people in Korea hold nursing licenses, only about 300,000 — roughly half — are actually working in medical fields, according to a new analysis. Even among active nurses, concentration in large hospitals is severe, with the number of nurses per 1,000 population varying by as much as 143-fold between regions.
The Korean Nurses Association said Tuesday that its analysis of "National Nurse Status" data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service showed approximately 550,000 licensed nurses nationwide as of the end of last year. Of these, 298,554 were actively working at medical institutions such as hospitals and clinics, accounting for only about 54% of the total. This means nearly 250,000 licensed nurses — so-called "dormant license nurses" — obtained their credentials but are not currently working. The average number of active nurses per 1,000 population stood at 5.84.
The key issue is the stark regional divide in the distribution of active nurses. The number of nurses per 1,000 population by city, county, and district ranged from a minimum of 0.33 to a maximum of 47.11, a 143-fold gap between regions.
Busan's Seo-gu district recorded the nation's highest with 47.11 active nurses per 1,000 population, followed by Seoul's Jongno-gu (39.96), Gwangju's Dong-gu (28.79), and Daegu's Jung-gu (25.86). In contrast, Gyeonggi's Gwacheon city had just 0.33 nurses per 1,000 population, the lowest in the country, while Gangwon's Inje-gun (0.65), Goseong-gun (0.82), and Daegu's Gunwi-gun (0.80) all fell below one nurse per 1,000 residents. Even within the Seoul metropolitan area, disparities were significant, with Seoul's Mapo-gu (1.43) and Gwanak-gu (2.17) falling below the national average.
The nurses association attributed the phenomenon not to an absolute shortage of nurses but to distribution imbalance. Despite the government's steady expansion of nursing school admissions quotas, new personnel have flocked mainly to the Seoul metropolitan area and large hospitals, deepening medical voids in local regions, the association said.
"The policy paradigm must shift from 'expanding license holders' to 'settling active personnel in local regions,'" a Korean Nurses Association official said. "We need practical measures such as a regional nurse system premised on local service, medical fee premiums for hospitals in underserved areas, narrowing wage gaps, and improving settlement conditions."
