South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on Thursday that it will publish a draft notice by April 11 outlining detailed standards for implementing the Law on Training and Supporting Local Physicians and its related regulations.
This Local Physician System aims to address the uneven distribution of medical personnel across regions and reduce healthcare disparities.
Starting in the 2027 academic year, 32 medical schools outside of Seoul will allocate a portion of their admissions to a Local Physician selection process. Eligible candidates must have attended middle or high school in the medical school’s area or neighboring regions and resided there during their studies.
Selected students will receive financial support from national and local governments for tuition, books, and housing. In exchange, they must serve for ten years in their assigned areas after obtaining their medical licenses.
The selection ratio will be based on each university’s increased enrollment capacity. Seventy percent of spots will be filled from designated service areas, with the remaining 30% open to broader regional recruitment to ensure adequate candidate pools.
The ministry has also clarified financial support criteria for selected students. Funds will be disbursed each semester, with universities applying to the city or provincial governors for review and approval.
Legal groundwork has been laid for establishing support centers.
Mandatory service locations will be limited to public health institutions, specialty care centers, accountable medical facilities, and hospital emergency departments for emergency physicians. This ensures local physicians primarily serve in essential public healthcare roles.
While the required service period is based on actual work time, only certain specialties count towards the requirement. These include internal medicine, neurology, surgery, neurosurgery, cardiothoracic surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, emergency medicine, and family medicine. Residency training remains available in all 26 specialties.
The ministry said organizations and individuals may submit comments on the proposed regulations to its Medical Workforce Policy Division or through its website by April 6.
This initiative represents a significant step towards addressing healthcare inequalities across the country and ensuring underserved areas have access to quality medical care.