Doctors Salary in South Korea is one of the highest among all developed countries. It is also considered as one of the best destinations for medical studies because of its competitive medical education system, highly advanced medical science and research facilities. Over the years, South Korea has been making significant developments in the field of health care, especially in the areas related to technology and medical science for the welfare of its people.

Doctors Salary In South Korea

South Koreans have access to a universal healthcare safety net, although a significant portion of healthcare is privately funded. In 2015, South Korea ranked first in the OECD for healthcare access.[1] Satisfaction of healthcare has been consistently among the highest in the world – South Korea was rated as the second most efficient healthcare system by Bloomberg.[2][3]

Contents
1 History
2 Comparisons
3 Health insurance system
4 Hospitals
5 See also
6 References
History
After the Korean War ended in 1953, South Korea’s medical infrastructure and healthcare system needed attention. To help Korea get back on its feet, the University of Minnesota and Seoul National University launched the Minnesota Project from 1955 to 1961. This project familiarized South Korean health professionals with medical methodology and cultivated a new wave of health leaders. It also increased public knowledge of proper sanitation and organized hospitals by the department. Due to the success it received, the Minnesota Project is accredited with pushing Korea’s healthcare industry into what it is today.[4]

In December of 1963, South Korea implemented their first health insurance law: the Medical Insurance Act. This allowed companies to provide voluntary health insurance to its employees.[5] Then in 1977, the law was revised to make health insurance mandatory. President Park Chung-Hee also mandated employee medical insurance in firms of 500 or more employees and introduced the Medical Aid Program which provides medical services for low-income citizens. Insurance would then proceed to be provided for government workers in 1979 and self-employed individuals in 1981.[6] Coverage would continue to expand, and in a mere 12 years, in 1989, national health insurance (NHI) extended to the entire country, providing universal health care for all citizens.[7]

In 2000, the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS; Korean: 국민건강보험; RR: Gukmin Geongang Boheom), was founded to combine all health insurances into a single national health insurer.[8] As of 2006, about 96.3% of South Korea’s total population is under the National Health Insurance Program (57.7% employee insured, 38.6% self-employed insured) while the remaining 3.7% of the population is covered by the Medical Aid Program.[5]

Comparisons
The quality of South Korean healthcare has been ranked as being among the world’s best. It had the OECD’s highest colorectal cancer survival rate at 72.8%, significantly ahead of Denmark’s 55.5% or the UK’s 54.5%. It ranked second in cervical cancer survival rate at 76.8%, significantly ahead of Germany’s 64.5% or the U.S. at 62.2%.[1] Hemorrhagic stroke 30-day in-hospital mortality per 100 hospital discharges was the OECD’s third lowest at 13.7 deaths, which was almost half the amount as the U.S. at 22.3 or France’s 24 deaths. For Ischemic stroke, it ranked second at 3.4 deaths, which was almost a third of Australia’s 9.4 or Canada’s 9.7 deaths. South Korean hospitals ranked 4th for MRI units per capita and 6th for CT scanners per capita in the OECD. It also had the OECD’s second largest number of hospital beds per 1000 people at 9.56 beds, which was over triple that of Sweden’s 2.71, Canada’s 2.75, the UK’s 2.95, or the U.S. at 3.05 beds.[1]

Health insurance system
Social health insurance was introduced with the 1977 National Health Insurance Act, which provided industrial workers in large corporations with health insurance.[9] The program was expanded in 1979 to include other workers, such as government employees and private teachers. This program was thereafter progressively rolled out to the general public, finally achieving universal coverage in 1989.[10] Despite being able to achieve universal health care, this program resulted in more equity issues within society as it grouped people into different categories based on demographic factors like geographical location and employment type.[11] These different groups ultimately received different coverage from their respective healthcare providers.

The healthcare system was initially reliant on not-for-profit insurance societies to manage and provide health insurance coverage. As the program expanded from 1977 to 1989, the government decided to allow different insurance societies to provide coverage for different sections of the population in order to minimize government intervention in the health insurance system. This eventually produced a very inefficient system, which resulted in more than 350 different health insurance societies.[12] A major healthcare financing reform in 2000 merged all medical societies into the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS).[13] This new service became a single-payer healthcare system in 2004. The four-year delay occurred because of disagreements in the legislature on how to properly assess self-employed individuals in order to determine their contribution.[9]

The insurance system is funded by contributions, government subsidies, and tobacco surcharges and the National Health Insurance Corporation is the main supervising institution. As of 1 January 2021, the applicable premium rate, including long-term care insurance, is approximately 7.65% of the monthly wages (currently capped at a monthly contribution of KRW 7,047,900 in total, subject to change in 2022); split equally between employers and employees at approximately 3.825% each. The employee contributions to the NHI program are deductible in calculating taxable income.[14] The national government provides 14% of the total amount of funding and the tobacco surcharges account for 6% of the funding.[15] The total expenditure on health insurance as a percentage of gross domestic product has increased from 4.0% in 2000 to 7.1% in 2014.[16]

In 2014, total health expenditure per capita was $2,531, compared to a global average of $1058, and government expenditure on health per capita was $1368.[17]

According to an NHIS survey, 77% of the population have private insurance. This is due to the fact that the national health plan covers at most 60% of each medical bill.[18]

Hospitals

Sihwa Hospital in Gyeonggi-do
Further information: List of hospitals in South Korea
The number of hospital beds per 1000 population is 10, well above the OECD countries’ average of 5.[19] According to Mark Britnell hospitals dominate the health system. 94% of hospitals (88% of beds) are privately owned. 30 of the 43 tertiary hospitals are run by private universities. 10 more are run by publicly-owned universities. Payment is made on a fee-for-service basis. There is no direct government subsidy for hospitals. This encourages hospitals to expand and discourages community services.[20]

The Korea International Medical Association has been formed to encourage medical tourism. Nearly 400,000 medical tourists visited South Korea in 2013, a number which was projected to rise to 1 million by 2020.[21] Compared to procedures done in the US, patients can save between 30 and 85% if they have the treatment in South Korea.[22][23] It has been reported that some Korean hospitals charge foreign patients more than local patients due to customized service such as translation and airport pickup. As a result, some medical tourists have complained that this is unfair.[24][25]

Introduction

Doctors are well educated and highly paid professionals. Their salaries are determined by a number of factors: specialty, location, years of experience, and more. Here, we’ll look at doctors’ salaries in South Korea, which is known as one of the world’s best countries for doctors (and also has fantastic food!). Doctors in South Korea make significantly more than the average worker. On average, they earn around $70,000 USD annually. However, some specialties boast a much higher income amount. In fact, ophthalmologists can make up to $185K per year! Here is a list of average doctor salaries in South Korea: Neurologists – $205K Dermatologists – $156K Cardiologists – $112K Orthopedic Surgeons – $200K+ Gastroenterologists – $196K Ophthalmologists – $185K Urologists – $132K

Neurologists – $205,000

• Neurologists are paid an average salary of $205,000.
• This is higher than the average salary of doctors in other countries ($168,000), and also higher than the average salary of doctors in South Korea ($156,000).

Dermatologist – $156,000

• A dermatologist is a doctor who treats conditions of the skin, hair and nails.
• According to industry experts, the average salary for a dermatologist in South Korea is $156,000 per year.
• As you might imagine, this is among the highest paid jobs in South Korea for any profession. They’re not only highly trained specialists who must have completed several years of medical school as well as an additional 3-5 years of residency training before they can practice independently; they also work in private practice which means autonomy over their hours and clients (though some companies will offer benefits like 401K plans).

Cardiologists – $112,000

Cardiologists are doctors who specialize in the treatment of heart disease. The average income for cardiologists in South Korea is $112,000. Cardiologists in the United States earn an average salary of $173,000 per year, while their UK counterparts make over £80,000 annually.

Orthopedic Surgeons – $200,000+

Orthopedic surgeons are the highest paid doctors in South Korea, and they’re highly sought after due to the shortage of orthopedic surgeons in the country. With an average salary of $200,000+, you can expect a very comfortable lifestyle here as an orthopedic surgeon.

Gastroenterologist – $196,000

Gastroenterology is the medical specialty that deals with diseases of the digestive system. Gastroenterologists diagnose and treat disorders of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine (duodenum, jejunum, ileum), colon (ascending colon, transverse colon, descending colon and sigmoid colon) and rectum. They also specialize in liver disease as it relates to digestive function. According to Payscale.com this job earns $196k annually with an hourly wage of $69 per hour at its lowest level of experience which happens to be a Level 1-3 professional designation under South Korea’s Medical Licensing System

Ophthalmologists – $185,000

Ophthalmologists are medical doctors who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of eye disease. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ophthalmologists earned an average salary of $187,280 in 2017 (www.bls.gov). In South Korea, they can earn even more: The average annual salary for an ophthalmologist there is $185,000—more than 30 percent higher than the figure in America!

It’s not just South Korea that pays its ophthalmologists well: England and Australia also offer some extremely lucrative opportunities for these specialists

Urologist – $132,000

Urology is a specialty of medicine that deals with the urinary tract and the male reproductive system. Urologists are the highest paid doctors in South Korea, earning an average salary of $132,000. Their work hours are long and their days can be very stressful; however, they get to work with one of the most important organs in your body—your kidney!

Most doctors in south korea are well paid compared to doctors in other countries.

In South Korea, most doctors are well paid. Compared to doctors in other countries, the average salary of a medical doctor is higher than the rest. The reason why there are so many doctors in this country and they earn more is that it is a wealthy country with no shortage of patients. The government also pays them higher wages because it invests heavily in medical education.

Conclusion

South Korea has a strong economy where people are willing to pay a premium for quality medical services. This means doctors in South Korea earn at a high rate compared to other countries. In addition, the cost of living in South Korea is quite high especially when it comes to housing so they need all the money they can get to live in comfort and style. It’s also worth noting that most doctors work long hours, sometimes up to 40 per week which means they don’t have much free time left over for themselves or their families.