Rural Doctor Who Gave Up Multi-Billion Won Annual Salary as Asan Hospital Director for a Monthly Pay of 3 Million Won

Im Kyungsoo, Head of Gobu Health Center in Jeongeup City
"Conditions for Public Health Doctors Must Be Improved"

"I couldn't bear to leave patients in such poor conditions, so I ended up settling here."

According to Yonhap News on the 16th, Im Kyung-soo, former director of Jeongeup Asan Hospital and regarded as a pioneer in establishing the Korean-style emergency medical system, recently took on the position of head of the Gobu Health Center in Jeongeup City, Jeollabuk-do.

Im Gyeong-su, Director of Gobu Health Center, Jeongeup City, Jeonbuk Autonomous Province. Jeongeup City

Director Im is a highly respected figure in the medical community, known as a founding member of the Korean Society of Emergency Medicine and a pioneer in building the Korean-style emergency medical system. After graduating from Yonsei University College of Medicine, he was appointed in 1989 as the first emergency medicine professor at Yonsei University Wonju Severance Christian Hospital, where he established the emergency medicine department and developed a cardiopulmonary resuscitation training system. He drafted the initial bill before the enactment of the Emergency Medical Service Act in 1994 and later served as an emergency medicine specialist at Seoul Asan Hospital and as director of Jeongeup Asan Hospital. Notably, he was the first senior physician proactively hired to improve medically underserved areas nationwide.

His connection to Jeongeup, despite being born and raised in Seoul, began in January 2022 when he retired from Seoul Asan Hospital after 33 years and took the position of director at Jeongeup Asan Hospital.

The medical reality of rural areas he first encountered was more dire than expected. "Jeongeup's area is about 1.2 times that of Seoul, but its population is around 100,000. Due to the lack of medical facilities, going to a hospital for a consultation is like taking a taxi from Songpa-gu to Myeong-dong," he said. "Because of this situation, patients do not take their medication on time, and disease management is completely lacking, leading to severe disabilities." In fact, while the national disability rate is between 5.1% and 5.6%, Jeongeup's disability rate reaches 10%.

In September last year, Director Im stepped down from his role at Jeongeup Asan Hospital and two months later, in November, assumed the position of head of the Gobu Health Center. He chose the path of a local public health doctor with a monthly salary of less than 3 million won, giving up a comfortable life in Seoul and an annual salary worth hundreds of millions of won.

Recalling that time, he said, "Honestly, everyone advised against it. Becoming a public health doctor meant losing the private school pension I was receiving, living in a 5-pyeong (approximately 16.5 square meters) room on the rooftop of the health center was tough, and there were many difficulties. Yet, I couldn't leave the patients who were relying solely on me. That's why I became a public health doctor here in Jeongeup, where I have no roots."

The reality he faced firsthand was even harsher than expected. "After actually working here, I thought it would be difficult for any doctor to serve as a public health doctor under these conditions," he said. "First, the Private School Pension Act needs to be amended so that the pension is not cut off when serving as a public health doctor. Also, related laws must be revised to allow senior physicians to be hired as public health doctors. Additionally, local governments need to support improvements in the living conditions of public health doctors."

He emphasized that the public health system must be improved in a positive direction to open the way for senior doctors to choose local public health service. "Among retired senior doctors around me, 5 to 10% want to move to rural areas and volunteer. However, unless practical conditions such as salary and living environment improve, it won't be easy. I plan to actively voice opinions so that government ministries prepare related measures and work toward legal amendments," he expressed his aspirations.