Gangwon Province Finalizes Contracts with All 24 Regional Essential Doctors... Hopes to Fill Healthcare Gaps

All 24 Planned Specialists Signed Contracts
Full-Scale Efforts to Strengthen Regional Essential Healthcare System Begin

Gangwon Province Special Self-Governing Province (Governor Kim Jin-tae) announced on the 23rd that, after being selected for the Ministry of Health and Welfare's "Regional Essential Doctor System Pilot Project" aimed at addressing the shortage of essential specialists in the region, it has finalized contracts with 23 specialists through close cooperation between the Gangwon Medical Workforce Support Center (Gangwon Regional Essential Doctor System Support Center) and four university hospitals in the province. One additional specialist, currently in negotiations, is also expected to sign a contract within November.

Exterior view of Gangwon Provincial Government Building. Provided by Gangwon Provincial Government.

The Regional Essential Doctor System is a program designed to fill gaps in essential specialties in local areas by encouraging early-career specialists to work long-term in the region. Selected specialists, after evaluation, can receive regional work support payments for up to five years.

A total of 24 specialists have completed contracts in this round, including 10 in internal medicine, 1 in surgery, 2 in pediatrics, 3 in emergency medicine, 1 in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, 1 in neurology, 4 in neurosurgery, and 2 in anesthesiology and pain medicine, covering eight specialties in total.

Notably, the Regional Essential Doctor System provides a monthly regional work support payment of 4 million won to essential specialists with less than five years of experience, and local governments offer additional support for settlement conditions.

To support settlement, the basic local governments where the hospitals are located (Chuncheon, Wonju, and Gangneung) provide a monthly regional settlement allowance of 1 to 2 million won. In addition, in connection with Kangwon Land Inc.'s social contribution projects, healing programs for mental and physical well-being as well as leisure and tourism infrastructure are offered.

Vice Governor Yoo Jung-hyup stated, "With contracts for all 24 assigned specialists in the province virtually completed, we have laid the foundation for stabilizing the medical workforce supply and establishing an essential healthcare system." He added, "We will continue to work with the Ministry of Health and Welfare to discuss the possibility of securing additional personnel and other related matters."

Meanwhile, in addition to the Regional Essential Doctor System, the province is also implementing various medical workforce supply policies, including a senior doctor support project for local medical centers and healthcare institutions, a support project for training residents in essential specialties at four university hospitals, a pediatric emergency support project by region, and a support project for medically underserved areas. In 2026, Gangwon Province Special Self-Governing Province plans to invest even more budget to further address gaps in healthcare services.

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