Late Night Pharmacy Opens... Busan City Recruits Pharmacies for 'Public Late-Night Pharmacy' Pilot Project

Recruiting 4 Participating Pharmacies in East, West, North, and Central-Southern Regions Until February 8

Open 365 Days Including Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays from 10 PM to Midnight

Panoramic view of Busan City Hall.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] A pilot project for ‘late-night pharmacies’ that open even late at night is being promoted in Busan.

Busan City announced on the 28th that it is recruiting pharmacies to participate in the ‘Public Late-Night Pharmacy Designation and Operation Pilot Project.’

The late-night pharmacy pilot project is being promoted to allow the purchase of medicines during late-night hours when medical accessibility is low, and to prevent overcrowding in hospital emergency rooms and misuse of medicines.

Busan City will designate one public late-night pharmacy each in the East, West, North, and Central-Southern areas, a total of four locations, to operate from 10 PM to 12 AM, providing support of 30,000 KRW per operating hour. The total project cost is 92.6 million KRW, fully funded by the city budget.

The application period is until the 8th of next month, and eligibility requirements are ▲pharmacies registered in Busan City as of the announcement date, and ▲pharmacies with no administrative sanctions related to unqualified medicine sales within the last three years.

Applications can be submitted by visiting in person, mail, or email along with the application form and a copy of the pharmacy establishment registration certificate.

The operation period for public late-night pharmacies is until December 31 of this year, and the public late-night pharmacy signboard and operating hours notice must be permanently displayed.

Additionally, 365 days a year including Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, medicine dispensing, sales, and medication counseling must be provided to visitors from 10 PM to 12 AM. It can also operate as a telephone medication counseling desk linked with 119 emergency services.

Busan City plans to comprehensively evaluate pharmacy location conditions, resident utilization, and willingness to participate to select four locations and announce the results on February 22.

An Byeong-seon, Director of the Welfare and Health Bureau of Busan City, said, “If mild patients can use public late-night pharmacies during late-night hours in the future, it is expected to alleviate emergency room overcrowding, improve citizens’ access to emergency medical care, and reduce medical expenses.”

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