Bed occupancy at nine national university hospitals outside Seoul averaged 56.4 percent in 2025, unchanged from 2024 and far below pre-dispute levels, as trainee doctors' return has not resolved shortages of experienced physicians, according to government data released by lawmakers.
While female researcher Darya Shipilova died of severe pneumonia of unknown cause in a laboratory accident at the Irkutsk Quarantine Research Institute in Siberia, Russia, unconfirmed reports about the possibility of additional infections are spreading, raising anxiety. The WHO Director-General urged Russia to transparently disclose information in accordance with international health rules, and Russian authorities denied the possibility of exposure to Yersinia pestis and announced that they had completed medical observation of about 200 people who came into contact with the virus.
Lim Seung-kwan, Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, announced plans to promote self-sufficiency of vaccines and development of mRNA vaccines in preparation for the pandemic at the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee audit on the 7th. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency predicts that the flu will continue until February next year.
The shortage of dedicated specialists is worsening at major trauma centers across the country. As of the end of last year, 6 out of 17 centers lacked a specialist in at least one essential medical field, and despite the government's increase in subsidies, the shortage of applicants continues, especially in local hospitals.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that it would hold the 2026 Expo for Products for the Severely Disabled at the aT Center in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, where 105 production facilities participated to showcase food and daily necessities and provide consultation on priority purchasing for public institutions.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced that as a result of inspecting illegal online sales and advertising of GLP-1 obesity treatment drugs this year, it detected 949 posts that violated the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and requested the Broadcasting Media and Communications Standards Commission to block them. By type, posts introducing online sales and sales sites were the most frequent with 716.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that it has selected Jeonnam Gwangju Special Metropolitan City (Chonnam National University Hospital) as the second project area for the pilot project to establish a transfer system between hospitals for seriously ill patients. A pilot project using dedicated ambulances is scheduled to be implemented from the first half of next year.
Due to the dispute over legislation, the number of surgeries at Pusan National University Hospital decreased by 37.6% compared to 2023, and the bed utilization rate also dropped from 70.3% in 2023 to 54.7% in 2024. This is the highest decline rate among national university hospitals, raising concerns about a decline in the region's critical and essential medical capacity.
![[Health Focus] “Cholesterol drug statins reduce the risk of glaucoma and the possibility of additional treatment”](/api/img?u=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.yna.co.kr%2Fphoto%2Fcms%2F2017%2F10%2F30%2F01%2FC0A8CAE20000015F6ADE1D7600001840_P2.jpg&w=800&q=72&f=webp)
A research team at the University of California, USA, analyzed the medical records of more than 420,000 people and found that the risk of developing glaucoma was 15% lower in the group taking statins than the group not taking statins, and the need for surgery or additional treatment was reduced. However, due to the retrospective observational study design, a prospective clinical trial was needed to confirm causality.
While applications for industrial accidents in the construction industry have increased by nearly 30% in the past three years, applications for industrial accidents due to diseases have increased more than four-fold over the same period, and applications for industrial accidents due to diseases have also nearly doubled in the land and water transportation industry, raising the need for measures to prevent long hours and high-intensity work and to improve the industrial accident recognition process.
The arrears of health insurance premiums for foreigners residing in Korea and overseas Koreans amount to KRW 37.5 billion, and 94% of the KRW 47.7 billion in deficits over the past five years were found to be due to long-term departure or overseas migration. It was pointed out that it is necessary to strengthen collection management before leaving the country and constantly check for changes in overseas residence status.
JW Pharmaceutical announced the results of the phase 3 clinical trial of Empagad, a type 2 diabetes treatment drug, at the European Diabetes Association, and HK Innoen reported the weight loss effect of its Chinese partner's phase 1b clinical trial for obesity. In addition, GC Green Cross launched Azelahill Cream, and HLB and Dongwha Pharmaceutical each shared the results of an inspection of the Rivoceranib manufacturing facility and the FDA certification of the Nectune cervical cage.
Busan City announced that from the 12th to June 30th of next year, it will provide free COVID-19 vaccinations to seniors over 65 years old, people with weakened immune systems, and residents of facilities vulnerable to infection. As the number of influenza and COVID-19 patients has recently increased 2.6-fold and 2.8-fold, respectively, efforts are being made to prevent severe disease and hospitalization in high-risk groups, and COVID-19 vaccination will be converted to mandatory vaccination from this season.
Chonnam National University Hospital and Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital were found to have a shortage of 78.8% and 67.7% of the actual number of doctors, respectively, and national university hospitals across the country also have a shortage of 2,602 doctors.
Of the 2,509 children's activity spaces that underwent environmental safety diagnosis last year, 1,084 (43.2%) were found to have exceeded environmental safety management standards for heavy metals, phthalates, and air quality. By facility, the local children's center had the highest excess rate at 71%, and the number of phthalate exceedance cases was the highest at 725. Rep. Eogyu emphasized analyzing the causes of overflow for each facility and checking until the end for improvement.
In a study conducted on more than 4.47 million adults by a joint research team at Samsung Seoul Hospital and Soongsil University, it was found that the risk of colorectal cancer increased significantly compared to normal people in people with diabetes or impaired fasting blood sugar even if they drank a small amount of alcohol. In particular, in the case of diabetic heavy drinkers, the risk rose to 77%.
The Japanese Obesity Society warned of the risk of side effects such as ketoacidosis if obesity and diabetes treatments such as Maunjaro are abused for diet or beauty purposes, and Yonhap News reported that 35 reports of side effects from use for purposes other than those in Japan were reported.
According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the Korea Institute of Food and Drug Safety, the number of methylphenidate prescriptions in the first half of this year was 58.05 million, an increase of 12.1% compared to the same period last year. In particular, the number of prescriptions for men under the age of 19 increased significantly. The government produced and distributed a promotional video to prevent abuse.
It was found that out of 18 oral care centers for the disabled, 6 do not have a dedicated dentist and 13 do not have a dedicated anesthesiologist, and although the treatment difficulty and time is higher than for non-disabled people, the treatment is low, resulting in a deepening manpower shortage and a cut in the budget.
It has been pointed out that it is necessary to prepare for the gap in skilled medical personnel, as about 100 out of 351 serious specialists at national university hospitals in non-metropolitan areas are expected to reach the age of 65 or older over the next 10 years under the regional doctor system that will be implemented from the 2027 school year.
Gyeonggi Province announced that the number of suspected flu cases in the province has increased 1.3 times over the past three weeks and urged people to get vaccinated in a timely manner. The proportion of suspected flu patients per 1,000 outpatients at week 39 was calculated to be 32.1, a 3.7-fold increase nationwide compared to the same period last year. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency issued an influenza epidemic advisory and announced a vaccination schedule by age.
As a result of a research team at Seoul National University College of Medicine analyzing the relationship between SNS use and loneliness among 34,142 adults living in Seoul, the proportion of SNS users who actively share their daily lives felt lonely was 30.1%, which was higher than that of non-users. In particular, 37.5% of users who felt left out felt lonely, which was significantly higher than the 22.4% of non-users. This association was statistically significant in people over 60 years of age.
In celebration of Mental Health Day (October 10), Jeonnam Gwangju Unified Special City announced that it will designate October 10 to 24 as Mental Health Promotion Week and hold commemorative ceremonies, special lectures, cultural events and campaigns. The event will encourage citizens to practice mental health in their daily lives under the theme, ‘Face it, mental health begins with facing it.’
