"Income Decreased by 28% Over 10 Years... Pediatricians Declare 'Department Closure'"

Ministry of Health and Welfare "Will Form Emergency Response Team"

On the 29th, a pediatrician association declared the 'closure of the department,' stating that continuous income decline has made operations impossible, prompting the government to announce the formation of an emergency task force. On the same day, the Korean Pediatric Society claimed, "Over the past 10 years, pediatricians' income has decreased by 28%, reaching a point where running hospitals is no longer feasible."

On the morning of the 29th, attendees are deep in thought at the press conference for the 'Farewell to Pediatric Pulmonology and the Public' held at the Korean Medical Association Hall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Im Hyun-taek, president of the medical association, said, "Despite 662 pediatric clinics closing due to financial difficulties over the past five years, consultation fees, the only source of income, have been frozen for 30 years," adding, "As pediatric specialists in this country are driven to a situation where they can no longer survive, they have no choice but to take down their signs."

In response, the Ministry of Health and Welfare released a document titled ‘Status Check on the Implementation of Pediatric Medical System Improvement Measures’ on the same day, explaining, "We will form an emergency task force to monitor the situation to ensure that the public does not suffer from reduced access to pediatric medical services."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Last month, the government announced pediatric medical system improvement measures, including enhanced compensation for pediatric medical institutions and strengthened pediatric emergency care functions, and stated that they are communicating with academic societies, medical organizations, and community doctors to ensure these measures are felt on the ground.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare also reported that, after checking the implementation status one quarter after the pediatric medical system improvement measures were introduced, 16 major tasks are being carried out without issues.

The ministry plans to continue discussions with the medical community to resolve the imbalance in the supply and demand of doctors in essential medical fields such as pediatric care, and to listen to the concerns of residents themselves to improve the training environment in less favored specialties.