Assemblyman Kim Won-i: Local Doctors Absent, Health Care Dedicated Public Officials Replace Them

Non-Capital Regions Have 1,880 Health Care Officers Performing Medical Duties Instead of Doctors

Among 7,915 Active Doctors in 2019, 5,920 Worked in the Capital Area, Busan, and Other Major Cities

Won-i Kim, Member of the National Assembly (Democratic Party, Mokpo-si, Jeollanam-do)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] It has been revealed that in rural fishing and farming areas, public officials qualified as nurses and midwives are performing medical acts in place of doctors due to a shortage of physicians. The system, introduced in 1980 to support medically underserved areas, is still ongoing in many rural fishing and farming regions even after 40 years.

According to data submitted by the Korea Health Promotion Institute to Kim Won-i, a member of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party representing Mokpo City, Jeonnam Province, there were 1,880 public health care officers working nationwide as of 2019.

However, looking at the status of public health care officers, there were none in Seoul, but many were performing duties in place of doctors in Jeonnam with 328 (17.4%), Gyeongbuk with 299 (15.9%), Jeonbuk with 238 (12.7%), Chungnam with 236 (12.6%), and Gyeongnam with 213 (11.3%).

On the other hand, the phenomenon of doctors graduating in the past four years concentrating in the metropolitan area and large cities remains unchanged. According to data submitted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to Assemblyman Kim Won-i, the number of active doctors increased by 7,915 from 2016 to 2019, but 5,920 of them, or 74.8%, were practicing in metropolitan areas, Busan, Daegu, and other large cities.

In Jeonnam, where the number of public health care officers is the highest at 328, the number of doctors increased by only 86, accounting for just 1.1% of the total increase in doctors.

Even if the number of doctors increases, most of the newly graduated doctors are active in metropolitan and large cities. Due to the concentration of doctors in the metropolitan area, medical gaps still occur in non-metropolitan regions.

Assemblyman Kim Won-i emphasized, “There should be no discrimination in the right to receive treatment because one lives on an island or in a rural area,” adding, “All citizens have the right to receive high-quality medical services, and the state has the obligation to provide high-quality medical services to all citizens.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.