SEOUL, Oct. 4 (Korea Bizwire) – Public medical institutions in South Korea are grappling with an increasingly severe shortage of doctors, a chronic issue that has pushed salaries to unprecedented levels. In a striking example last year, a public medical center in South Jeolla Province hired an orthopedic surgeon for an annual salary of 620 million [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo said Friday that the government would have a “more open attitude” as he renewed calls for doctors to join talks to resolve a prolonged walkout by trainee doctors against the government’s medical reform. For about seven months, thousands of junior doctors have walked [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Korea Bizwire) – As the South Korean government moves to address medical shortages by allowing foreign-licensed doctors to practice, new data reveals that only 54.5% of foreign medical school graduates passed a key qualifying exam, raising concerns about the quality of care such a policy might introduce. The preliminary examination for medical licenses, [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of cancer surgeries decreased significantly in the first five months after a junior doctors’ strike began in February, data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) showed Monday. Between February and June, the number of patients who underwent cancer surgeries at upper-class general hospitals nationwide [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Korea Bizwire) – A fierce “recruitment war” is unfolding across South Korea as hospitals scramble to staff their emergency rooms, highlighting a growing crisis in the country’s healthcare system. Some hospitals are offering annual salaries of up to 400 million won for emergency medicine specialists, yet still struggle to fill positions. The situation [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — With a protracted dispute between the medical community and the government continuing to strain South Korea’s healthcare system, emergency physicians are increasingly looking abroad for better working conditions and professional opportunities. At a recent academic conference held by the Korean Emergency Physicians Association (KEPA) in Seoul, sessions on practicing medicine [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Korea Bizwire) – The resignation rate among resident physicians in South Korea has surged to 73% in just over a month, according to recent data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare. This dramatic increase highlights the escalating tension in the country’s healthcare sector, with certain specialties experiencing even higher rates of attrition. [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — The government has referred 18 doctors, medical students and others to the prosecution for a probe into their alleged involvement in drawing up or releasing a list of junior doctors who returned to hospitals following their walkout, the health ministry said Thursday. Last week, a list of junior doctors [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — Members of more than 90 patient advocacy groups staged a rally in central Seoul on Thursday, calling for doctors to end the ongoing walkout that has disrupted public health services for nearly five months. The protest, including members from the Korea Alliance of Patients Organization and the Korean Organization [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — Senior doctors at Asan Medical Center, one of the five biggest hospitals in Seoul, said Wednesday they will cut procedures and outpatient care starting Thursday, blaming the government for causing disruptions in public health services in the wake of medical reform. Medical professors at the University of Ulsan, who [...]