"We had to wait two weeks," said Lee Bo-mi, a 35-year-old mother with a sick 3-year-old boy, at the Healthy Children's Hospital.
By comparison, it costs about A$335 for initial standard consultation with an Australian paediatrician, while observation at Nationwide Children's Hospital in the U.S. costs $208 per hour, according to its website.
Data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service shows paediatricians are South Korea's lowest paid doctors, making 57% less than the average doctor's salary.
Sowha Hospital, South Korea's oldest children's hospital, recently suspended Saturday afternoon and Sunday treatment for the first time in 77 years due to a lack of staff.
"If the number of children's hospitals decreases and the number of doctors falls, it's going to be difficult to get children treated."
Persons:
Song Jong, geun, Jung Seung, Kim Hong, Ji, paediatrics, Lee Bo, Dae, it's, Choi Yong, jae, Dr Lim Hyun, I'm, Kim Eun, Lee Ju, yul, there's, Lee, Lim, Joyce Lee, Robert Birsel
Organizations:
REUTERS, Seoul Institute, Reuters, The, of Health, Welfare, Children's, Korea University Guro Hospital, Korea Children's Hospital, Korean Pediatric Association, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Health Insurance, Service, Namseoul University, Thomson
Locations:
Seoul, South Korea, Ji SEOUL, Seoul's, Korea, Australian, U.S