South Korea’s healthcare system is under scrutiny following instances of patients facing challenges in accessing medical care. An illustrative case involves a teenage girl from Daegu who, after a fall from a four-story building, was reportedly denied admission by seven hospitals due to the unavailability of emergency facilities or specialists. Following a two-hour delay, she suffered cardiac arrest and died.

In 2022, South Korea’s health ministry’s data highlighted that there are 2.5 doctors for every 1,000 people in South Korea. When excluding practitioners of traditional Korean medicine, this ratio stands at 2, marking the lowest among the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, pointing to a disproportionate distribution of medical professionals.