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During Chuseok Holidays, Visit Nearby Clinics and Pharmacies for Minor Illnesses… Busan Metropolitan City to Support Emergency Medical Care System During Holidays

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Busan Metropolitan City Mayor Park Heong-joon announced that the city will implement the “Emergency Medical Care System Support Program during Holidays” to ensure that citizens can receive medical care without interruption during the upcoming Chuseok holidays.

This initiative aims to encourage patients with minor illnesses to use nearby clinics and pharmacies that remain open on October 5 and 6, while allowing emergency rooms to focus on severe cases.

Notably, Busan Metropolitan City is the first metropolitan government to independently provide operating subsidies not only to clinics and hospitals but also to pharmacies, using its own financial resources rather than disaster management funds. This underscores the city’s pioneering role in implementing the program.

The city will provide operating subsidies ranging from KRW 120,000 to KRW 700,000, depending on the type of institution and operating hours. Specifically, hospitals will receive KRW 400,000–700,000, clinics KRW 300,000–500,000, and pharmacies KRW 120,000–240,000. Payments will vary according to whether institutions operate 4 hours or more, or 8 hours or more.

Clinics providing outpatient services and pharmacies dispensing prescriptions during the Chuseok holidays are eligible to participate in the program.

The program will cover clinics operating either on October 5 (the day before Chuseok) or October 6 (Chuseok Day itself). For pharmacies, only those open on October 6 are eligible; however, participating pharmacies that operate on Chuseok Day may also be supported for operations on the day before.

General hospitals, dental clinics, Korean medicine hospitals/clinics, long-term care hospitals, and psychiatric hospitals are excluded. Emergency medical institutions and “Moonlight Children’s Hospitals,” which already receive similar support, are also ineligible.

Among applicants, the city will prioritize institutions based on whether they operate on Chuseok Day, provide essential departments (internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and pediatrics), and the total operating hours.

Gu.Gun Community Health Centers will collect applications and Busan Metropolitan City will finalize the list of supported institutions in September. The subsidies will be disbursed between late November and December.

Cho Gyuyul, Director General of the Citizens’ Health Bureau, stated, “This initiative will play a major role in reducing medical service gaps during the holidays and easing emergency room overcrowding. We hope many clinics and pharmacies will participate, and we also urge citizens with minor illnesses to first visit nearby medical institutions and pharmacies.”