"Severe Regional Disparities in Healthcare Facilities"... Pukyong National University Professor Lee Eun's Team Publishes Domestic Analysis in International Journal

Quantitative Analysis of Public and Private Healthcare Facility Distribution Gaps
Widening Disparities Outside the Capital Region
Published in "PLOS ONE"

A research team led by Professor Lee Eun at Pukyong National University has published a paper analyzing regional disparities in medical facilities in South Korea in a renowned international academic journal.

Pukyong National University announced on September 29 that the research team's paper, titled "Regional disparities in the distribution of public and private healthcare facilities in South Korea," authored by Professor Lee Eun from the Department of Scientific Computing, undergraduate student Park Jiyu (third year), and Dr. Jeon Byungyoon, was published in an international journal on September 24.

This study quantitatively analyzed the distribution patterns of public and private healthcare facilities, providing an in-depth examination of the issue of regional disparities in access to medical care faced by Korean society. The findings are expected to offer important implications for future policies on the allocation of healthcare resources and the strengthening of essential medical services.

According to the research team's analysis of the "National Status of Hospitals, Clinics, and Pharmacies" data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, private medical institutions showed a strong correlation with population density and reinforced commercial placement patterns. In contrast, although public hospitals were relatively widely distributed, significant regional imbalances remained evident.

In particular, the study found that essential medical fields such as pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, and emergency medicine were not sufficiently provided even in the public sector, highlighting the vulnerability of medical access in regions outside the capital area.

Professor Lee Eun systematically evaluated healthcare facility inequality using quantitative indicators such as the Concentration Index (CI) and scaling index, and predicted that the gap between the capital and non-capital regions would continue to widen over time.

Professor Lee emphasized, "Regional disparities in healthcare are not simply a matter of the number of facilities, but rather the result of a complex interplay of population distribution, socioeconomic factors, and institutional contexts. Therefore, policies are needed to expand public investment and strengthen essential specialties based on an accurate assessment of inequality."

(From left) Professor Lee Eun, student Park Jiyu, Dr. Jeon Byungyoon.

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