In the result of the recruitment of residents (first year residents) for the first half of 2025 conducted by nationwide training hospitals, the residency application rate was about 8%, with almost no applicants for so-called 'essential medical' specialties such as thoracic surgery and obstetrics and gynecology. Obstetrics and gynecology announced a total recruitment of 188, but only 1 person applied. Concerns are growing that the shortage of specialists in major fields will worsen if this situation continues.
According to Representative Kang Sun-woo of the Democratic Party, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, the status of residency applications for each medical field received from the Ministry of Health and Welfare shows that, in the recruitment results that closed on the 9th, out of a total recruitment of 3,954, 314 people (about 7.9%) applied. A resident is a process where one obtains additional clinical training in a specialty to qualify as a specialist after graduating from medical school and obtaining a medical license, going through an internship process while rotating through various medical fields.
According to Representative Kang Sun-woo's office, the application rates for internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and pediatrics recorded single-digit figures.
Pediatrics recruited 206, but only 5 applied, resulting in an application rate of 2.4%. Internal medicine had 700 positions with 27 applications, yielding an application rate of 3.9%; surgery had 215 positions with only 10 applicants, resulting in a rate of 4.7%. Emergency medicine had 224 positions with 7 applicants, leading to a rate of 3.1%, while cardiovascular thoracic surgery had 65 positions with 2 applicants, achieving a rate of only 3%.
The medical specialty with the lowest application rate was radiation oncology, which had 26 positions and received no applications. Among the medical specialties classified as essential, the specialty with a relatively higher number of recruits was neurosurgery, which had 119 positions with 14 applications, yielding an application rate of 11.8%.
Conversely, so-called popular medical specialties had application rates exceeding 20%. The most sought-after specialty was psychiatry, which had 152 positions with 42 applicants, resulting in an application rate of 27.6%. Plastic surgery had 18 applicants out of 73 positions, leading to a rate of 24.7%, while rehabilitation medicine had 23 applicants out of 105 positions, achieving a rate of 21.9%. Dermatology had 72 positions with 9 applicants, resulting in an application rate of 12.5%.
Representative Kang Sun-woo stated, “The conflict between the current government and the medical community has become so tangled that it is creating a chaotic situation that prolongs damage to the people,” and emphasized, “The problem of the shortage of essential medical residents directly relates to public health and life, so the National Assembly's efforts towards strengthening support for essential medical services, establishing public medical schools, and introducing a local doctor system are more crucial than ever.”