[Inside Chodong] Medical Service Gaps Must Be Filled Before They Widen Further

In the 1970s and 1980s, domestic daily newspapers in Korea frequently featured articles about prominent figures in politics and business traveling to the United States or Japan for disease treatment. For instance, during President Ronald Reagan's visit to Korea in November 1983, there was a heartwarming story about two orphans aged 4 and 7, suffering from heart disease, who boarded the presidential aircraft Air Force One together to receive surgery in the U.S.

Last November, during President Yoon Suk-yeol's visit to Cambodia, the Blue House issued a press release stating that First Lady Kim Keon-hee visited the home of a 14-year-old boy suffering from heart disease. This sparked strong domestic and international criticism, accusing the administration of exploiting impoverished children for political propaganda. However, shortly after, reports emerged that the boy was receiving surgery at Seoul Asan Medical Center, which brought renewed attention to a similar story from 40 years ago involving Nancy Reagan. While the nature of the goodwill was similar, the difference was that Nancy Reagan’s story became widely known through an obituary on ABC News after her passing in March 2016.

In any case, there was a time when people had to travel abroad for medical treatment, and underprivileged Korean children even set foot on American soil for care. Now, Korea boasts many world-renowned medical experts and offers medical services that are far more affordable and better than those in the U.S., Europe, or any other advanced country.

However, upon closer inspection, it is merely a "bitter-sweet" situation. Due to a shortage of medical staff, emergency patients often die after being transferred from hospital to hospital by ambulance, and parents routinely line up overnight for pediatric care in what has become a daily occurrence known as "open run." There is a shortage of essential specialists such as surgeons, obstetricians, and emergency medicine doctors. Although there are many private hospitals, few are truly reliable, and nationwide, public hospitals are few and face financial difficulties threatening their existence. While conditions are somewhat better in Seoul and other large cities, there is an enormous concentration of patients flocking to "major hospitals in Seoul."

According to an analysis by Kim Young-joo, a member of the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee from the Democratic Party, on the status of "medical tourism to the five major hospitals in Seoul," over the past five years (2018?2022), 1.03 million cancer patients living outside the metropolitan area received treatment at the five major Seoul hospitals (Seoul National University, Seoul Asan, Seoul St. Mary’s, Sinchon Severance, Samsung Seoul). Patients and their caregivers travel hundreds of kilometers and form "patient villages" by staying in nearby goshiwon (small dormitories) or officetels.

The government’s proposed solution to reduce "emergency room cycling," "pediatric open runs," and "Seoul patient villages" is to "expand medical school enrollment." On the 19th, at the Essential Medical Innovation Strategy Meeting chaired by President Yoon Suk-yeol, the government announced plans to increase the medical school admission quota, which has been capped at 3,058 students for 18 years since 2006, starting with the 2025 university entrance exams.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, as of last year, Korea had 2.1 doctors per 1,000 people, which is below the OECD average of 3.7. The number of doctors graduating domestically was 7.3 per 100,000 people in 2021, only half the OECD average of 14. Even if the quota is increased by 1,000 students annually starting in 2025, the number of doctors per 1,000 people will only reach 3.49 by 2035, still below the OECD average of 4.5.

However, the medical community opposes expanding medical school quotas, arguing that a drastic increase in medical fees for essential specialties such as surgery and pediatrics, as well as easing legal burdens related to medical accidents, should take priority. The government and medical community must not ignore voices saying "it is already too late." There is no justification that can outweigh the responsibility to protect the lives of the people.

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