Korea, 2.6 Doctors per 1,000 People 'Among the Lowest in OECD'... Even Those Concentrated in the Capital Area

It has been revealed that South Korea's healthcare workforce, including doctors and nurses, falls significantly short of the average among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries. While indicators of income inequality across society have improved, they have worsened among the retired age group.

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On the 21st, Statistics Korea announced the publication of the "Korea Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Implementation Report 2024," which includes these findings. The SDGs are 17 policy goals unanimously agreed upon by United Nations (UN) member states to be achieved by 2030.

According to the report, expenditures in essential social security sectors such as social welfare, health, and education increased from 127.6 trillion won in 2011 to 322.3 trillion won last year. The proportion of total expenditures also rose from 41.3% to 50.5% during the same period. In particular, spending in the social welfare sector increased from 78.9 trillion won in 2011 to 206 trillion won last year, driving the rise in essential service expenditures.

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Income inequality in South Korea, measured by the Gini coefficient, is generally on a downward trend. Using data from the Household Finance and Welfare Survey and calculated according to OECD recommended methods, South Korea's disposable income Gini coefficient decreased from 0.388 in 2011 to 0.324 in 2022. The Gini coefficient is an index indicating the degree of income disparity and imbalance, where values closer to 0 represent equality and values near 1 indicate inequality.

The Gini coefficients for the working-age population (18-65 years) and the retired population (66 years and older) were 0.303 and 0.383 respectively in 2022. While the working-age group saw a decrease of 0.007 compared to the previous year, the retired group experienced an increase of 0.005, indicating worsening income inequality among retirees.

The impact of COVID-19 on the education sector has been slow to recover. According to the 2022 academic achievement assessment, the percentage of students below basic proficiency levels in middle school 3rd grade was 11.3% in Korean, 13.2% in mathematics, and 8.8% in English. For high school 2nd grade, the rates were 8.0% in Korean, 15.0% in mathematics, and 9.3% in English. Compared to the previous year, the proportion of students below basic proficiency increased in all subjects except English for high school 2nd graders.

The healthcare workforce was significantly below the OECD average. As of 2021, the number of doctors and nurses per 1,000 people was 2.6 and 4.6 respectively, far below the OECD averages of 3.7 doctors and 8.4 nurses. In Seoul, the number of doctors increased from 2.9 per 1,000 people in 2011 to 3.9 in 2021, an increase of 1.0, while in Chungbuk it rose from 1.7 to 1.9, highlighting intensified concentration in metropolitan areas.

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The proportion of women in senior management positions in the central government was 14.6% in 2021, ranking second lowest among OECD member countries after Japan (12.9%). The OECD average was 34.2%.

The gender wage gap was 31.2%, the highest among OECD member countries and about three times the OECD average of 12.1%.

The share of renewable energy, used as an indicator for climate change response, was 3.6% (as of 2020), the lowest among OECD member countries. South Korea's greenhouse gas emissions per gross domestic product (GDP) ranked sixth highest after Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, and Poland.

Fatalities from natural disasters numbered 64 in 2022, and heatwave-related deaths, added to statistics since 2018, averaged 36 annually.

Biodiversity has continued to decline, dropping from 0.76 in 2000 to 0.69 last year, placing South Korea among the countries with the lowest levels alongside New Zealand and Mexico. The proportions of terrestrial and marine protected areas were 17.45% and 1.81% respectively as of last year. The marine protected area ratio was far below the OECD average of 19.2%.

Statistics Korea noted, "While South Korea has shown improvements in various indicators over the past decade, disparities based on gender, age, and region remain evident, necessitating detailed policies to support vulnerable groups."

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