South Korea’s Public Health Doctors Fall 28% in Five Years as Service-Term Debate Grows

South Korea’s public health doctor system is shrinking rapidly, leaving islands and mountainous areas facing a deeper medical vacuum. The total number of public health doctors fell from 3,524 in 2021 to 2,551 last year, a decline of 973, or 27.6 percent, over five years.

The figures appeared in the Health and Welfare Ministry’s 2025 white paper, issued on the 6th. Doctors assigned to public health centers and branch centers fell even more sharply, from 3,042 to 2,156, a 29.1 percent decline.

The drop followed a prolonged conflict between the medical profession and the government, which created a gap in medical residency training and sharply reduced the number of newly assigned medical public health doctors. Only 98 new medical public health doctors entered this year.

The shortage is expected to continue. The ministry projects that the annual number of medical public health doctors could remain as low as 500 through 2031, as more medical students choose active-duty military service to avoid the 36-month public health doctor commitment.

Medical groups are calling for a shorter service period to address the chronic shortage, arguing that the current system is making it harder to maintain care in underserved regions.