Only 1 in 2 Licensed Nurses Work in Hospitals... Regional Disparity Reaches 140-Fold

Korean Nurses Association Reports Regions With Fewer Than One Nurse Per 1,000 People Due to Concentration in Major Hospitals

It has been revealed that only half of those holding nursing licenses in Korea are actually working in medical settings. In particular, the phenomenon of 'local concentration' of medical personnel is extremely severe, with the density of active nurses varying by as much as 140 times depending on the region.

According to an analysis by the Korean Nurses Association on May 4, based on the "National Nurse Status (2025)" data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, as of the end of last year, there were approximately 550,000 licensed nurses in Korea. However, only 298,554 nurses were actually working in healthcare institutions, accounting for about 54% of the total.

The number of active nurses per 1,000 people was calculated to be 5.84 on average. The issue, however, lies in the extremely uneven regional distribution of active nurses. The survey found that the number of nurses per 1,000 people by city, county, or district ranged from as low as 0.33 to as high as 47.11, resulting in a gap of up to 140 times between regions.

The areas with the highest concentration of nurses were urban districts where major tertiary hospitals are located. Seo-gu in Busan, home to several university hospitals, recorded the highest figure nationwide at 47.11 nurses per 1,000 people. This was followed by Jongno-gu in Seoul (39.96), Dong-gu in Gwangju (28.79), and Jung-gu in Daegu (25.86), all of which host major hospitals.

In contrast, the shortage of personnel in medically underserved areas is critical. Gwacheon-si in Gyeonggi Province had the lowest number of nurses at just 0.33 per 1,000 people, with Inje-gun (0.65) and Goseong-gun (0.82) in Gangwon Province, and Gunwi-gun in Daegu (0.80) also recording fewer than one nurse per 1,000 residents.

The disparity is also evident within the metropolitan area, with the number of nurses in Mapo-gu (1.43) and Gwanak-gu (2.17) in Seoul falling well below the national average.

Experts analyze that this phenomenon stems not from an absolute shortage of nurses, but from an 'imbalance in distribution.' Although the government has steadily increased admissions to nursing colleges, new personnel continue to be concentrated in large hospitals in the metropolitan area, further exacerbating the lack of regional healthcare coverage.

The Korean Nurses Association stated, "The policy paradigm should shift from simply increasing the number of licensed nurses to promoting the regional settlement of active personnel," and proposed the following: effective design of a 'regional nurse system' based on local deployment, expanding incentives for hospitals in medically underserved areas, narrowing wage gaps, and improving living conditions such as housing and education.

An association official commented, "It is now more important to structurally consider not just how many nurses are trained, but how they can be retained and where they will work. If the regional disparity in active nurses is left unaddressed, medical service inequality based on place of residence will only accelerate."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.