Image not related to article. [Getty Images Bank]
Image not related to article. [Getty Images Bank]

Sinan-gun in South Jeolla Province, struggling with a shortage of medical personnel, is offering an exceptional monthly salary of 33 million won ($23,300) to recruit a senior doctor.

The county announced Thursday it is accepting applications through Saturday for one "senior doctor" position, open only to physicians aged 60 or older. The contract runs for one year.

Sinan-gun is offering a pretax monthly salary of 33 million won for a five-day workweek, or 26.4 million won for a four-day workweek. On a five-day basis, the pretax annual compensation would reach 396 million won, while the four-day arrangement would amount to 316.8 million won a year before taxes. Actual take-home pay may vary depending on taxes and specific working conditions.

The high compensation comes with equally demanding eligibility requirements. Applicants must either hold a general medical license with at least 20 years of clinical experience, or be a board-certified specialist with at least 10 years of service at a general hospital or higher-level medical institution.

The hired physician will not be stationed at a single community health subcenter but will rotate among health centers and subcenters across the county. Duties will cover general consultations, pre-vaccination screenings, medical certification and documentation, and other healthcare tasks required by local public health facilities.

The recruitment drive comes amid a sharp decline in public health doctors assigned to the area. The number of such doctors serving Sinan dropped from 21 last year to 15 this year.

Eight of the 16 community health subcenters in Sinan-gun currently have no doctor assigned. To fill the gap, a single public health doctor from a nearby facility is covering up to four subcenters, but visits each location only once or twice a week.

Given the high proportion of elderly residents and chronic disease patients typical of island communities, rotating visits alone are insufficient to meet the ongoing medical needs of local residents.

"We set this compensation level after comprehensively considering the difficulties in securing medical personnel," Sinan-gun Mayor Kim Tae-seong said. "We hope to recruit a doctor who is truly needed by the county to strengthen healthcare welfare that residents can feel directly."

He added that the county would "continue to improve the medical care system in underserved areas so that island residents can receive the same level of healthcare service as those in cities."


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