License to Heal in Jeopardy: Physician Reissue Approval Rate Crashes from 85% to 11% in Stunning Decline

【Health and Welfare News】 Since the introduction of the license reissue review system, the rate of medical license reissue has decreased significantly.

According to the data on ‘Annual License Reissue Status’ received by Rep. Choi Bo-yoon (People Power Party), a member of the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee, from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the license reissue rate reached 87.2% in 2020, with 75 out of 86 applications being reissued, but it was found to have significantly decreased to 9.8% in 2023, with only 16 out of 163 applications being reissued.

In particular, by job title, ▲Doctors decreased from 85.5% in 2020 to 11.1% in 2023, ▲Dentists decreased from 50% in 2020 to 5.9% in 2023, ▲Oriental medicine doctors decreased from 81.8% in 2020 to 8.5% in 2023, and ▲Nurses decreased from 100% in 2020 to 13.3% in 2023.

Rep. Choi Bo-yoon emphasized, “It appears that the license re-issuance rate is decreasing significantly every year due to the strict application of the system,” and “The government must continuously and systematically pursue policies to manage medical professionals’ licenses and improve the quality of medical services.”