In Sokcho, You Must Not Get Sick on Mon, Tue, Wed... "Medical School Quotas Must Increase by at Least 1,000" (Comprehensive)

Medical image [Image source=Pixabay]

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Sokcho Medical Center in Gangwon Province offered an unprecedented salary of 400 million KRW per year when it publicly recruited an emergency medicine specialist last February. However, there were no applicants. Currently, the emergency room at Sokcho Medical Center is closed on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays this month and operates only on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The hospital removed the emergency medicine specialization requirement and has attempted recruitment five times recently but failed to secure the necessary personnel. Medical staff avoid working in remote areas due to poor working conditions. Meanwhile, residents are left in a 'medical blind spot.'

According to the “2022 Nationwide Status of Essential Medical Care Vulnerable Areas by City and Province” released by the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) on the 11th, surgery, known as the “flower of essential medical care,” had only 4.47 specialists per 100,000 people nationwide on average. Seoul (9.08 specialists) was the only region exceeding the average, while Sejong (2.09 specialists) had less than half the average. Eleven cities and provinces, including Gyeongbuk (2.31 specialists) and Chungnam (2.92 specialists), were below the average. According to the Medical Service Act, general hospitals with more than 300 beds must have at least nine clinical departments, including internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology, each staffed with dedicated specialists. For example, Jeonnam Suncheon Medical Center, which has 310 beds, has a surgery department but no specialist. Incheon Red Cross Hospital and Tongyeong Red Cross Hospital do not have surgery departments at all.

In terms of the number of obstetrics and gynecology specialists (average 4.13), Seoul (8.36) had more than twice the average, while Sejong (2.08), Ulsan (2.22), and Chungnam (2.51) were significantly below. In rural areas, due to more severe aging and low birth rates, many medical institutions do not operate obstetrics and gynecology departments. Representative examples include Jeonnam Suncheon Medical Center, Incheon Red Cross Hospital, Gyeonggi-do Medical Center Icheon Hospital, Tongyeong Red Cross Hospital, and Gangwon-do Gangneung Medical Center. Even Daegu Medical Center, Sangju Red Cross Hospital, and Gyeonggi-do Medical Center Anseong Hospital, which have obstetrics and gynecology departments, lack specialists.

The situation in pediatrics, which has so-called “department closure declarations,” is also poor. The number of pediatric specialists is 1.80, ranking low among essential medical departments. Seoul has 4.30 specialists, while Gyeongbuk (0.91) has less than one. The average number of emergency medicine specialists is 3.74, with 12 cities and provinces, including Busan (2.77), Gyeongnam (2.96), and Jeonnam (3.03), falling below the average. After the death of a teenager in Daegu last February due to “emergency room cycling,” the ruling party and government decided to expand the number of severe emergency medical centers, where treatment is available within one hour nationwide, from 40 to 60. Internal medicine, with an average of 13.28 specialists nationwide, is relatively better. However, the gap between the lowest, Gyeongbuk (7.34), and the highest, Seoul (26.06), is up to fourfold.

Analyzing the number of specialists and department establishment rates in general hospitals by city and province, CCEJ identified Jeonnam, Ulsan, and Sejong as vulnerable areas for essential medical care. All five clinical departments in these regions were below the national average. Notably, Daejeon, Gwangju, Ulsan, and Sejong lack even local medical centers, which serve as the last bastion of regional public healthcare.

CCEJ argued that to bridge the gap in medical resources between regions, the establishment of public medical schools and expansion of medical school quotas are necessary. Song Ki-min, chairman of CCEJ’s Health and Medical Committee, said, “We must prioritize establishing public medical schools in regions without medical schools and increase the medical school quota, which has remained unchanged for 18 years, by at least 1,000.” The government also seeks solutions to regional medical shortages here, but the medical community strongly opposes this, insisting that support for regional medical institutions should come first.

Kyung Sil Ryeon, Press Conference Urging Expansion of Public Healthcare [Image Source=Yonhap News]

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Since COVID-19, the importance of essential medical care has increased, and during the 21st National Assembly, a total of 13 bills related to the establishment of public medical schools were proposed by both ruling and opposition parties. These bills mainly involve the government supporting budgets for public medical school establishment and requiring doctors to serve mandatory duty at regional medical institutions for 10 years after obtaining their medical licenses.

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