Business · Economy · 1 hr ago
Self-employed doctors in South Korea averaged 402 million won in 2024
South Korean doctors who reported income as sole proprietors averaged 402 million won in 2024.
The figure covers doctors in fields such as internal medicine, surgery and dermatology, but excludes dentists and traditional Korean medicine doctors.
It is based on business income after expenses and before tax, so it does not include salaried doctors or income reported through companies.
The average rose 52.9% from 2017, when it was 263 million won.
Doctors’ average was higher than every other profession in the comparison, including dentists at 222 million won and lawyers at 106 million won.
But the median was 264 million won, far below the average, indicating that some high earners pulled the average up.
The figures concern reported business income and do not establish what effect, if any, this has on medical costs.
Self-employed doctors in South Korea reported average business income of 402 million won in 2024, the highest among 14 professional occupations.
That was a 52.9% increase from 263 million won in 2017.
The 2024 average was 1.8 times the average for dentists and 3.8 times the average for lawyers.
The median income for doctors was 264 million won, 138 million won below the average.
The figures cover business income reported by individual proprietors, not salaried doctors or corporate income.
- Who
- Doctors reporting business income as individual proprietors in South Korea.
- What
- Their average reported business income was 402 million won in 2024.
- When
- The income was for 2024 and was reported in figures released on October 27, 2026.
- Where
- South Korea.
- Why
- Not stated. The figures were compiled from tax filings for individual proprietors.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Doctors reporting business income averaged 263 million won.
Their average business income fell to 300 million won.
Their average business income reached 402 million won, up 6.3% from 2023.
Figures from the National Tax Service were reported after being obtained by lawmaker Moon Jin-seok.
- Average income
- 402 million won per self-employed doctor in 2024
- Increase since 2017
- 52.9%
- Median income
- 264 million won in 2024
- Doctors filing business income
- 43,718 in 2024
- Total reported business income
- 17.56 trillion won in 2024
- Comparison with dentists
- Doctors’ average was 1.8 times the dentist average of 222 million won