Concerns Over Medical Service Gaps in Underserved Areas Due to Sharp Decline in Public Health Doctors... Struggling to Devise Countermeasures

This year, the number of newly enlisted public health doctors (Gongbo-ui) has significantly decreased compared to those completing their service. Amid concerns about medical gaps in underserved areas, the government plans to analyze the causes of the resource decline and develop improvement measures.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the 10th, 1,106 newly enlisted Gongbo-ui will begin their 36-month service starting today with central job training. After completing the training, 1,050 Gongbo-ui will be assigned to local governments, and 56 to central agencies, with placements at each city and province, correctional facilities, and national hospitals starting on the 14th.

Doctor stock photo. [Image source=Pixabay]

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The issue lies in the decrease of new enlistments compared to those completing service. This year, 1,290 Gongbo-ui are completing their 3-year service, which is 184 more than the number of new enlistments. In particular, for medical doctors, only 450 were newly enlisted this year, while 729 completed their service, resulting in a total medical Gongbo-ui workforce decreasing from 1,713 to 1,434, a 16.3% (279 persons) reduction.

This shortage of medical Gongbo-ui is expected to continue for the time being. Over the past nine years, the number of newly enlisted medical Gongbo-ui typically ranged from the 600s to as many as 700-800, but since the full onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the numbers have dropped to 478 in 2021, 511 last year, and 450 this year.

The government estimates that the decrease in Gongbo-ui is due to a combination of factors including the continuous increase in the proportion of female students within medical school quotas, the proportion of students who have completed military service, and the burden of long-term service compared to active-duty soldiers. Currently, the Gongbo-ui service period is 36 months, which is twice as long as the 18 months for active-duty soldiers. Additionally, working in remote island and mountainous areas and increased workload following the COVID-19 pandemic are also considered contributing factors.

Conversely, the number of dental and Korean medicine Gongbo-ui is slightly increasing this year. There are 249 new dental Gongbo-ui and 407 Korean medicine Gongbo-ui enlisted, which is 48 and 47 more than those completing service, respectively.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to prioritize deploying Gongbo-ui personnel to medically underserved rural and fishing villages to prevent medical gaps due to the reduced number of new enlistments this year, and to expand outreach clinics at health centers.

A Ministry of Health and Welfare official stated, "We will prepare improvement measures based on a more accurate analysis of the causes of the decrease in Gongbo-ui resources and mid- to long-term projections, and will consult with related ministries such as the Ministry of National Defense."

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