Public Health Doctors Association: "400 Towns and Townships at Risk of Becoming Medically Underserved... Institutional Reforms Needed, Including Shorter Service Periods"

"Over 90% of Medical Students Would Choose Public Health or Military Doctor Service if Service Period Is Shortened"

The Korean Public Health Doctors Association has called for institutional reforms, including a reduction in service periods, warning that at least 400 towns and townships could become medically underserved areas.

Korean Public Health Doctors Association

On January 20, the Korean Public Health Doctors Association issued a statement with these concerns, urging the Ministry of National Defense and the Military Manpower Administration to devise countermeasures. The association stated, "While the annual number of newly appointed public health doctors was around 700 until 2020, it has plummeted to 250 in 2025. The total workforce, which once reached 2,000, has already been halved. If the supply is completely cut off in 2026, the number of public health doctors will drop to just 500, a quarter of the figure from five years ago."

According to the association's own survey, out of 1,275 public health centers nationwide, 459 have no private medical institutions within a 4-kilometer radius, meaning these centers serve as the sole medical facility in their respective areas. The association argues that if public health doctor numbers are further reduced and the operation of these centers is paralyzed, at least 400 towns and townships will become "medically underserved areas."

The association also pointed out that the excessively long service period, compared to regular soldiers, should be shortened. "While the service period for regular soldiers has been reduced to 18 months, public health doctors have been trapped in an unreasonable 37-month term for decades," the association said. "More than 90% of 2,469 medical students responded that they would choose to serve as public health doctors or military doctors if the service period were reduced to 24 months." The association added, "Adjusting the service period to a realistic level is the clearest solution to restoring the supply of public health doctors. The Ministry of National Defense must seriously heed on-site data and recommendations from the relevant authorities."

The association also criticized the Ministry of National Defense and the Military Manpower Administration, which have the authority to determine the supply of public health doctors, for failing to present clear allocation principles or mid- to long-term plans, thereby increasing uncertainty in the field. The association stated, "The Ministry of Health and Welfare's request for new public health doctors should be fully accepted, and the unilateral reduction plan must be completely withdrawn." It emphasized, "Health centers that exist only on paper without function, and medical centers with open doors but no doctors, are administrative measures that force residents to become 'medical refugees' in the hometowns where they have lived all their lives."

Park Jaeil, the president-elect of the association, stated, "If the supply of new public health doctors is cut off, local healthcare will suffer irreparable damage. Since the field has prepared itself based on the previously presented supply guidelines, a sudden reduction in personnel undermines administrative predictability and seriously damages policy credibility."