The number of doctors working at South Korean medical institutions has grown by more than 30,000 over the past decade, but more than half are concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, widening the regional gap in medical staffing. Doctor numbers have recently begun falling in Gangwon State and North Gyeongsang Province, while the average age of physicians in North Gyeongsang and South Jeolla Province (Jeollanam-do) has passed 50.
According to the second survey on the state of the health and medical workforce, released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the 29th, the number of doctors working at medical care institutions rose from 82,409 in 2013 to 112,443 in 2023, an increase of 30,034, or 36.4%, over the decade. That works out to average annual growth of 3.2%. The survey analyzed licenses, qualifications and activity status for 2.324 million people across 20 health and medical occupations, including doctors, nurses and pharmacists, along with working conditions and pay by region and type of institution.
Even as the total rose, the concentration around Seoul deepened. The share of doctors working in the metropolitan area of Seoul, Gyeonggi and Incheon climbed to 55.6% in 2023 from 53.2% in 2013, a gain of 2.4 percentage points. The region added about 19,000 doctors over that period. By contrast, the share in metropolitan cities outside the capital region fell to 21.5% from 22.9%, and the share in provincial areas slipped to 22.5% from 23.8%.
In some regions, the number of doctors is actually shrinking. Average annual growth in the doctor count from 2021 to 2023 turned negative in Gangwon State and North Gyeongsang Province, at minus 0.2% each. Jeonbuk State was effectively flat at 0.0%, while North Chungcheong Province managed 0.1% and South Jeolla Province 0.3%. Over the same period, Gyeonggi grew 4.4% and Seoul 3.0%.
The aging of doctors in regional areas also stood out. The nationwide average age of physicians rose 2.5 years to 47.1 in 2023 from 44.6 in 2015. As of 2023, North Gyeongsang Province had the oldest doctors at 50.8, followed by South Jeolla Province at 50.2, Ulsan at 49.8 and Jeju Special Self-Governing Province at 49.7. Seoul stood at 44.7, or 6.1 years younger than North Gyeongsang. North Gyeongsang also aged the fastest, rising 3.6 years in eight years from 47.2 in 2015.
Labor costs climbed steeply as well. Doctors' pay grew at an average annual rate of 5.6% from 2013 to 2023, outpacing nurses at 3.5%, dentists at 3.1%, pharmacists at 2.7% and doctors of Korean medicine at 0.6%. Average annual pay for doctors was 285.18 million won in 2023. By type of institution, hospital-level doctors earned the most at 354.27 million won, followed by clinics at 325.99 million won, general hospitals at 251.45 million won and tertiary general hospitals at 199.76 million won.
"This survey matters because it gives a precise picture of the actual supply and demand for personnel working in the field and of their working conditions," said Lim Eul-gi, director general for health care resources policy at the ministry. "We will use it as the basis for policy so that personnel can be supplied smoothly by region and by field."
