Resolving Chronic Healthcare Worker Shortages for Rapid Infectious Disease Response and Quality Public Medical Services
Annual Salary Increased Up to 145 Million KRW, Differentiated by Specialty and Experience to Reflect Realistic Compensation Levels
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government is taking steps to attract outstanding medical personnel to resolve the chronic shortage of healthcare workers and to respond swiftly to infectious diseases like COVID-19.
On the 12th, Seoul announced that it will newly hire 26 public doctors through a demand survey of municipal hospitals and public health centers as its first regular recruitment of the year. Starting this year, Seoul will shift its hiring method from on-demand recruitment by each medical institution to biannual regular recruitment (first and second half of the year), and increase salaries by up to 40% (up to 145 million KRW) for new hires to reflect realistic compensation. The annual salary structure will also be improved by differentiating based on medical specialty and experience, aiming to drastically improve the treatment of medical staff.
The shortage of doctors in public medical institutions is directly linked to the rapid response to infectious diseases and the provision of high-quality public healthcare services. However, public medical institutions have relatively low salaries compared to the private sector and unpredictable hiring schedules, which have led to lower interest among doctors. Over the past three years, the vacancy rate for doctors in Seoul’s public medical institutions has been 11%, and the current vacancy rate this year is 12.6% (348 authorized positions, 44 vacancies), indicating a chronic shortage of personnel.
This year’s public doctor recruitment introduces two main changes: the ‘hiring method’ and ‘salary.’ The hiring method will change from on-demand recruitment by each institution when vacancies arise to a regular, centralized recruitment conducted by the Seoul Human Resources Development Institute, allowing applicants to anticipate the hiring schedule and prepare in advance.
Salaries will increase by 6 million to 55 million KRW annually (up to 40%), and the salary determination method will shift from being based solely on years of service regardless of specialty to a differentiated system based on medical specialty and experience. The annual salary for specialists will range from 110 million to 145 million KRW depending on the specialty, while general practitioners will earn between 77 million and 102 million KRW.
In particular, for special and focused treatment areas at municipal hospitals, 150% to 200% of the minimum salary standard will be applied, resulting in a maximum increase of 55 million KRW compared to previous salaries. Previously, new hires were uniformly paid 110% to 120% of the minimum salary standard without reflecting the characteristics of the medical specialty, making it difficult to attract excellent medical personnel.
The first regular recruitment of the year starts on the 12th. A total of 26 public doctors (17 specialists, 8 general practitioners, and 1 Korean medicine doctor) will be recruited across 11 fields at 9 institutions including municipal hospitals. Applicants can specify their preferred institution when applying, and the selected doctors will begin work between June and July.
Applications must be submitted by registered mail to the Seoul Human Resources Development Institute between the 26th and 28th. For more details, refer to the announcements posted on the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Human Resources Development Institute websites, the Seoul online application center, and the doctor-exclusive community Medigate.
Meanwhile, to help medical staff and citizens better understand ‘public healthcare,’ Seoul has produced a video introducing the actual working environment of public healthcare workers through interviews with medical personnel active in the field. The video is available on the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Human Resources Development Institute websites as well as on Seoul’s YouTube channel. Search for ‘Seoul Public Medical Institution Doctors’ on YouTube to view it.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
