South Korea will fully fund malpractice insurance premiums for doctors working in high-risk medical specialties starting this week. The Ministry of Health and Welfare opened applications Thursday for its expanded medical liability insurance support program. Under the initiative, the government covers all premium costs for physicians in obstetrics, pediatrics, and emergency medicine. Consequently, officials hope the measure will slow the alarming exodus of doctors from these critical fields.
The program addresses a deepening crisis in South Korea’s essential medical workforce. Hospitals nationwide have long struggled to recruit physicians into specialties involving round-the-clock demands and significant litigation exposure. Furthermore, fear of lawsuits has consistently ranked among the top reasons doctors avoid obstetric and emergency care careers. Medical dispute cases related to childbirth alone rose from 23 in 2022 to 35 in 2024, with additional cases proceeding directly to court.
The malpractice insurance program now extends coverage to specialists at maternal care centers, neonatal facilities, and designated emergency institutions. Additionally, obstetricians with active delivery experience and pediatric surgical specialists gain eligibility under the expanded framework. Coverage limits have also increased considerably for qualifying physicians. The plan now covers compensation payments between 150 million won and 1.65 billion won, with a total protection ceiling of 1.8 billion won per physician.
The government will pay the full annual premium of 1.75 million won per eligible doctor entirely from public funds. Moreover, resident doctors across eight critical specialties including neurosurgery, thoracic surgery, and emergency medicine retain existing coverage under separate terms. The ministry also introduced retroactive coverage for emergency transport pilot program participants enrolling before July’s end.
The broader context makes this intervention particularly urgent for South Korea’s demographic outlook. Although births rose 14.8 percent in early 2025, the number of hospitals offering delivery services has continued declining steadily. Indeed, nearly 89 percent of obstetrics clinics filed no childbirth insurance claims between January and August 2025. Therefore, stabilizing the obstetric workforce has become inseparable from South Korea’s wider efforts to address its historically low birth rate.
