Ministry of Health and Welfare Analyzes Clinic-Level Medical Institutions
Number of Dermatologists Also Increased 1.4 Times During the Same Period
Over the past decade, the number of doctors working in clinic-level plastic surgery departments has nearly doubled. During the same period, the number of doctors in dermatology clinics, another popular specialty, also increased by 1.4 times.
On the 28th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Health Insurance Service announced that as of January 2022, there were 1,769 doctors working in clinic-level medical institutions (primary care institutions) designated as plastic surgery. This represents a 76.4% increase from 1,003 doctors in 2012. The number of plastic surgery clinics where these doctors work rose from 835 in 2012 to 1,012 in 2020, surpassing 1,000 clinics, and further increased to 1,115 clinics in 2022. During this period, the growth rate of plastic surgery clinics was 33.5%.
An area densely populated with plastic surgery clinics and hospitals
Alongside plastic surgery, dermatology clinics, also considered a popular specialty, showed a clear upward trend. The number of doctors in dermatology clinics increased by 39.6%, from 1,435 in 2012 to 2,003 in 2022. The number of dermatology clinics also rose by 32.5%, from 1,047 to 1,387 during the same period.
The popularity of plastic surgery and dermatology is also evident in resident recruitment. According to the results of the 2024 first-half resident first-year early recruitment conducted in December last year targeting 140 training hospitals, plastic surgery (165.8%) and dermatology (143.1%) both recorded application rates well over 100%. In contrast, essential but less popular specialties such as pediatrics had a 26.2% fill rate, obstetrics and gynecology 63.4%, and emergency medicine 76.7%, failing to meet recruitment quotas.
Popular specialties like plastic surgery and dermatology are known to be preferred by many doctors because they offer high income while having a lower risk of medical disputes. At a meeting with the Ministry of Health and Welfare in December last year, a representative from a hospital-level institution stated, "It is said that even starting a cosmetic or plastic surgery clinic right after obtaining a medical license earns more money than doing an internship or residency," adding, "This has caused a 'clinic opening rush,' and once doctors go that route, they do not return to essential medical fields."
For this reason, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which is promoting an increase in medical school admissions, is also considering ways to attract medical personnel to essential medical fields such as emergency medicine and pediatrics. However, the Ministry explains that the increase in the number of plastic surgery and dermatology clinics and doctors reflects the growing interest in skin beauty and plastic surgery alongside population aging, so this demand cannot be forcibly suppressed. A Ministry official said, "While fostering the cosmetic and plastic surgery fields, we must implement medical personnel policies to ensure sufficient supply of doctors in essential medical fields."
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