11 of 14 national university hospitals fall short of mandatory disability hiring quota

Most national university hospitals, which anchor South Korea's public healthcare system, have repeatedly failed to meet the legally mandated quota for hiring workers with disabilities, new data show.

Data submitted to Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Seo Mi-hwa, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, by the Korea Employment Agency for Persons with Disabilities show that 14 national university and dental hospitals under the Ministry of Education's jurisdiction fell short of the mandatory disability employment rate on a recurring basis over the four years from 2022 to 2025. The combined employment levy assessed against the 14 hospitals over that period reached 23 billion won ($17.1 million).

Under the Act on the Promotion of Employment of Persons with Disabilities and Vocational Rehabilitation, the state, local governments and public institutions are required to fill a set proportion of their workforce with people with disabilities.

The mandatory employment rate was raised from 3.6 percent for 2022–2023 to 3.8 percent for 2024–2026. Hospitals that fall short of the threshold must pay a levy based on the number of positions left unfilled.

Breaking the figures down by year, 13 of the 14 hospitals failed to meet the quota in 2022, and all 14 fell short in 2023.

After the rate was raised by 0.2 percentage points to 3.8 percent in 2024, 11 hospitals still failed to comply — a number that remained unchanged in 2025.

"National university hospitals, as institutions responsible for public healthcare, must set an example in employing people with disabilities," Seo said. "They need to move away from the practice of paying annual levies worth tens of billions of won as a substitute for meeting the mandatory employment rate."

Seo urged the hospitals to take a more proactive approach — expanding hiring and improving working conditions so that people with disabilities can hold stable jobs.

Meanwhile, 12 of the 14 hospitals — all except Seoul National University Hospital and Seoul National University Dental Hospital — were transferred from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on Aug. 20, when the Act on the Establishment of National University Hospitals took effect.