The number of general practitioners opening clinics in South Korea has grown sharply amid a prolonged standoff between the government and the medical community, with the vast majority focusing on dermatology.
Data obtained by Rep. Jeon Jin-sook of the Democratic Party of Korea from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service showed that 176 new general clinics were established between January and July this year, a 36.4 percent increase from 129 during the same period in 2024.
In South Korea, general practitioners are doctors who obtain a medical license after graduating from medical school and passing the national exam, but who do not complete a residency program.
Unlike board-certified specialists, they cannot use or advertise with specialty titles such as "otolaryngology clinic." However, they are authorized to diagnose and treat a wide range of conditions and may open clinics that cover any medical field, depending on the equipment and facilities available.
Specialists, which the country tends to place a higher value on, by contrast, must complete both an internship and residency training before passing a board exam to receive certification in a specific field.
The rise in general clinics has coincided with last year's mass resignations of residents in protest of medical school quota expansions. While a majority of trainees have since returned, restoring residency numbers to about 76.2 percent of prestrike levels, some who left are believed to have abandoned training altogether and instead opened general clinics.
The 176 new clinics opened this year registered an average of 2.4 treatment fields each, with dermatology accounting for 146 filings, or 83 percent of the total. Plastic surgery followed with 49, family medicine 42, internal medicine 33 and orthopedics 30.
The concentration reflects a broader trend. Dermatology and plastic surgery are considered "popular specialties" because of their high demand for nonreimbursed cosmetic procedures that fall outside the national insurance system. These fields tend to offer higher profits and lower legal risks.
Some board-certified specialists are also reportedly opening clinics under the status of general practitioners to provide dermatology services instead of pursuing the specialty they have spent years to acquire.
Regional disparities were also evident. Nearly 70 percent of new clinics were concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, with 72 in Seoul, 39 in Gyeonggi Province and 12 in Incheon. Gangnam-gu and Seocho-gu in southern Seoul together accounted for more than one-fifth of the total.
"The return of residents has been concentrated in popular specialties, and now new general clinics are showing the same trend, creating deeper polarization," Rep. Jeon said. "Policies are needed to prevent further gaps in essential medical care."