Doctors walk down a hallway at a general hospital in Seoul. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — A new survey has found that South Korean doctors work more than 2,300 hours a year on average, prompting calls from the medical community for more accurate assessments of working conditions before the government determines future medical school quotas.
At a conference hosted Wednesday by the Korean Medical Association’s Research Institute for Healthcare Policy, researcher Lee Jung-chan presented findings from a nationwide survey conducted between September 25 and October 17, involving 1,382 doctors. The study showed that doctors in South Korea worked an average of 2,301 hours annually, equivalent to about 292.6 working days.
By comparison, previous national physician surveys found 2,408 hours in 2016 and 2,260 hours in 2020. Residents had the longest working hours among all groups, exceeding 3,700 hours per year. Clinical duties accounted for 77.5 percent of total working time, followed by administrative tasks (11 percent), teaching (4.5 percent), and research (4.1 percent).
Lee argued that existing government studies underestimate doctors’ workloads by assuming they work 240 to 265 days a year. “Our data show an average of 292.6 working days,” he said. “If actual working patterns are reflected, conclusions about doctor shortages could change.”
He added that doctors’ unique schedules—often including weekends, holidays, and overnight shifts—should be factored into workforce projections. “We need to move away from rough scenarios and base projections on precise data about actual hours worked,” Lee said.
Another researcher, Lim Ji-yeon, emphasized the role of artificial intelligence in healthcare productivity, saying, “AI can improve efficiency, reduce costs, and streamline administrative work. It must be considered a key policy variable when discussing medical workforce planning.”
The Ministry of Health and Welfare formed a committee in July to study medical workforce supply and demand, with meetings held biweekly. The ministry plans to finalize by the end of this year the physician workforce estimates needed to set medical school enrollment quotas for the 2027 academic year.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
