Korea’s shortage of core medical services to worsen as new clinics focus on dermatology, plastic surgery

A health care worker walks through a major hospital in Seoul, July 20. Yonhap

Korea’s health care system continues to grapple with persistent shortages in core medical services, underscoring the need for effective solutions. Although new clinics run by general practitioners are on the rise, 83 percent focus on dermatology, further deepening the shortfall in primary medical services.

The number of new clinics opened by primary care physicians this year reached 176 as of July, according to data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service received by Rep. Jeon Jin-sook of the Democratic Party of Korea on Sunday. The figure marks a 36.4 percent increase from 129 during the same period last year.

General practitioners are licensed doctors who have passed the national board exam but have not completed a residency. Physicians become specialists after finishing residency training and passing an additional certification exam.

The number of general practitioners opening clinics has surged since the conflict between the government and the medical community started in February last year. The government aimed to address health care shortages in rural areas and critical fields such as pediatrics and surgery by expanding medical school admissions, but the move sparked fierce opposition from doctors and medical students.

Amid the strike, many graduates opted to forgo residency training and instead open private clinics. As a result, the number of new clinics jumped from 193 in 2022 to 285 in 2024.

While the number of new clinics is on the rise, many are concentrated in dermatology and plastic surgery, further widening gaps in core medical areas.

A total of 176 newly opened clinics this year reported 421 specialties, with dermatology recording the largest number at 146. This means roughly 83 percent of the new clinics included dermatology in their field of practice. Plastic surgery followed with 49, trailed by family medicine with 42, internal medicine with 33 and orthopedics with 30.

The gaps are widening not only across medical specialties but also by region, with 70 percent of newly opened clinics concentrated in the metropolitan area.

Seoul alone accounted for 72 new clinics, or 40.9 percent of the total so far this year, followed by 39 in Gyeonggi Province at 22.2 percent and 12 in Incheon with 6.8 percent.

Furthermore, the decline in pediatric specialists is becoming evident, with only 6,438 recorded as of July, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

The figure had in fact risen from 6,389 in 2023 to 6,467 in 2024, despite the ongoing conflict between the government and the medical sector.

However, it marked the first-ever decrease in the number of pediatric specialists due to a trend driven by the country’s record-low birthrate and the heavy legal and administrative risks that come with frequent parental complaints.

The drop also reflects a wave of senior doctors retiring coupled with a sharp decline in younger physicians entering the field.

Amid the ongoing crisis in the medical sector, the government has pledged more than 10 trillion won ($7.2 billion) by 2028 to raise medical fees and revive critical fields such as pediatrics and surgery.

Yet fee hikes alone are seen as insufficient, with calls for broader measures, including improved working conditions and expanded medical infrastructure in rural areas.