Over 3,000 doctors are generated annually in Korea, yet a declining number are actively seeking specialized qualifications. Particularly noteworthy is the reduction of physicians specializing in critical departments that deliver essential care, with a decrease of 610, or 24 percent, observed over the past decade.

That, in turn, explains why the medical community points out that simply augmenting the count of medical school students will yield limited results unless corresponding incentives are established for regional hospitals and vital healthcare sectors.

Rep. Shin Hyun-young of the Democratic Party of Korea analyzed the data on specialists in the medical department who served one to four years submitted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. She found that the total number of doctors in 26 special departments decreased by 2,618, or 20.3 percent, from 12,891 in 2014 to 12,273 in 2023.

Among the 26 medical departments, Shin defined pediatrics, surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, obstetrics-gynecology, and emergency medicine as “essential” departments while categorizing dermatology, ophthalmology, plastic surgery, orthopedics, mental health, rehabilitation, and radiology as “popular” specialties.

The number of doctors specializing in essential departments decreased by 610, or 24.0 percent, from 2,543 in 2014 to 1,933 in 2023. During the period, those in popular departments decreased by 583, or 14.8 percent, from 3,945 to 3,362.

Among the essential majors, the decline was particularly steep for the pediatric department. The number of pediatricians fell from 804 to 304, a hefty drop of 62.2 percent.

The decline was noticeable in the Seoul metro region and the rest of the country. The number of pediatricians in the greater Seoul area marked the steepest drop, falling by 343 from 571 to 228. This was followed by 105 in the Gyeongsang provinces, 50 in Jeolla provinces, 29 in Chungcheong provinces, seven in Gangwon Province, and two in Jeju Province.

The number of surgical specialists decreased by 176, from 599 to 423.

Excluding emergency medicine, more than 70 percent of medical residents in essential departments were trained in the Seoul metro region. Obstetrics and gynecology were the most heavily concentrated in the greater Seoul area, with 77.2 percent, followed by surgery at 75.0 percent, cardiothoracic surgery at 73.1 percent, and otolaryngology at 71.3 percent. The comparable rate for emergency medicine was 63.7 percent.

The rate of decline in essential medical specialties was greater outside of the Seoul metro region than in the greater Seoul area. The number of essential specialties in the Seoul metro region decreased by 23.3 percent, from 1,792 to 1,378, while that in the rest of the country dropped by 26.6 percent, from 751 to 555.

In the case of popular specialties, there was no difference in the rate of decline between the Seoul metro region and the rest of the country. The number of popular majors in the greater Seoul area decreased by 14.6 percent, from 2,493 to 2,130, and that in the rest of the country fell by 15.2 percent.

"The sharp decline in pediatricians over the past decade has led to medical disruptions, as shown by widespread ‘open-and-dash’ phenomenon in pediatric clinics, with ordinary people bearing its brunt," Rep. Shin said. "In the absence of measures to revive essential medicine, expanding the number of medical school students will end up an ineffective populist policy, and the consequences will be disastrous unless a mechanism is put in place to incentivize regional doctors and vital care providers."