The Health and Medical Workers' Union States "Reflecting the Reality of Recruitment Difficulties in Local and Small to Medium Hospitals"
A survey revealed that the highest average annual salary per doctor is 400 million KRW, and the top salary among doctors reaches the 600 million KRW range.
The National Health and Medical Industry Labor Union (Health and Medical Union) announced on the 18th the status of doctors' wages surveyed from April 24 to May 22 this year at 113 medical institutions where union members are present. It pointed out that the logic of doctors demanding the cancellation of medical school quota increases lacks justification amid the collapse of regional and public healthcare due to doctor shortages and consequent high wages.
On the 18th, when the Korean Medical Association enforced a collective strike, a notice of closure was posted in front of a pediatric clinic in Dong-gu, Daegu. [Photo by Yonhap News]
A public hospital in Yeongnam had the highest average annual salary per doctor at 400 million KRW. Local medical centers in the Gyeonggi region and rehabilitation hospitals in the Honam region tied for second place with an average salary of 390 million KRW per doctor.
The highest doctor salary was 600 million KRW at a special-purpose public hospital in the Yeongnam region. A medical center in the Gyeonggi region ranked second with 594.78 million KRW. Following were doctors earning 594.78 million KRW at a local medical center in the Chungcheong region and 532 million KRW at a local medical center in the Gyeonggi region.
The high salaries are analyzed to be due to the difficulty in recruiting doctors in special-purpose public hospitals handling industrial accidents, local medical centers, and rehabilitation hospitals. The Health and Medical Union pointed out, “What is characteristic is that doctors' wages are high in local hospitals and small to medium-sized hospitals,” reflecting the reality that it is difficult to recruit doctors in these hospitals.
They added, “These hospitals are experiencing a vicious cycle of department closures due to doctor shortages, collapse of medical capabilities, and increased management burdens,” emphasizing, “Without extraordinary measures to stably secure excellent medical personnel, regional and public healthcare cannot be saved, and the medical delivery system will inevitably collapse.”
Annual Salaries of Doctors at National and Private University Hospitals. [Photo by the Health and Medical Workers' Union]
As a result of investigating the proportion of doctors' wages in total hospital labor costs, the highest was a private small to medium-sized hospital in the Yeongnam region, reaching as high as 40%. Another private small to medium-sized hospital in Yeongnam recorded 37.8%, and a private university hospital in Seoul recorded 37%.
The Health and Medical Union stated, “Excessively high doctors' wages compared to the wages of all staff are a major cause of hospital management difficulties,” and pointed out, “Without establishing an appropriate wage level for doctors that is skyrocketing and preparing stable doctor recruitment plans, stable hospital operation, proper medical delivery system establishment, and cooperative medical system construction are impossible.”
The average salary per specialist doctor at large hospitals such as university hospitals, which have recently gone on collective strike, was surveyed to be around 150 million to 200 million KRW. However, the Health and Medical Union explained that this wage excludes overtime, night, holiday work allowances, and annual leave allowances.
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