Seoul City "Night Pharmacies in Seoul to Continue Operating"

19% of Public Night Pharmacies... Establishing Medical System with 30 Medical Institutions

As Seoul City decides to discontinue the public night pharmacy project by the end of this month, concerns about a medical service gap are growing. However, Seoul City explained that the night pharmacies ending this time account for only 19% of the total. Additionally, from 2025, the Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to convert night pharmacies into a national project.

According to Seoul City on the 20th, the city sent official letters on the 18th to each autonomous district notifying them of the termination of the public night pharmacy operation project.

Public night pharmacies are pharmacies that operate from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. the next day on weekdays, weekends, and holidays so that citizens can safely and properly purchase medicines at night. Pharmacist organizations are opposing this decision, calling it a disregard for citizens' health rights and access to healthcare.

Seoul City released explanatory materials on the same day in response to these concerns. First, there are a total of 177 pharmacies operating past 10 p.m. in Seoul, of which 33 are public night pharmacies operated with budget support. In other words, public night pharmacies receiving budget support account for 19% of the total.

Seoul City stated, "We are currently guiding citizens to find pharmacies operating at night without inconvenience even if public night pharmacies are discontinued from the beginning of the year," adding, "Pharmacies operating after 10 p.m. can be checked on the emergency medical portal E-gen, and detailed maps by district, including pharmacy-specific and day-specific operating hours, will be provided through the Seoul Smart Seoul Map to make it easy to find."

Along with this, Seoul City conveyed that 13 items of over-the-counter medicines, including children's fever reducers, cold medicine, antipyretic analgesics, and digestive medicine, are already available at 7,354 convenience stores operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so concerns about medical service gaps are expected to be minimal.

Seoul City said, "the city has established the ‘Seoul-type Night and Holiday Pediatric Medical System’ so that sick children and their parents can receive treatment with peace of mind even at night and on holidays, designating 30 medical institutions located near pharmacies," and "the city will continuously monitor to prevent medical service gaps for citizens, including children, at night and will continue to consult with related professional organizations such as the Pharmacists Association."

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