South Koreans' confidence in the emergency medical services last year just hovered above the 50 percent mark, a survey showed Sunday, after medical staff shortages resulted in several incidents ambulances being turned away by hospitals.
Some 54.3 percent of the respondents said they trust the country's emergency medical services, according to the 2025 survey on 6,000 adults conducted by a local pollster Metrix and commissioned by the National Medical Center. It edged down from 53.8 percent in the previous year.
In terms of confidence rate for medical services provided at the emergency rooms, the 2025 figure of 53.2 percent was 2.2 percentage points higher than the previous year. The confidence level in emergency room treatment plummeted to 42.6 percent last year, from 60.4 percent in 2024.
Some 22.2 percent of the respondents said they actually used an emergency room last year.
While confidence level for ER and general emergency medical services was low, 64.8 percent of respondents said they were content with the emergency treatment they received.
The report stated that many people thought highly of the medical expertise of the staff, but had negative perceptions toward the congested environment of the emergency room.
Trust in the ambulance system was also low. The confidence in emergency transportation was at 58.7 percent, down by 1.1 percentage points from the previous year.
The trust in the public ambulances operated by the 119 emergency service was 57.1 percent, down by 7.6 percentage points compared to the previous year's 64.7 percent. About 55.8 percent of the respondents said they trusted private ambulances, while 58.3 percent said they trust ambulances operated directly by hospitals.
When asked why they were not content with the ambulances, 39.9 percent said it was because the vehicle and equipment were outdated, and 15.9 percent cited delays in response times.
The report noted that frequent ambulance re-routing has fueled concern over the country's emergency medical system.
Last year's National Fire Agency data showed that there were 79,455 ambulance transfers in 2025 that took over 60 minutes, more than double the 2023 figure of 33,933. The number of cases that took more than two hours also doubled in the same period, from 452 to 934.
The report said problems caused during emergency patient transfer, the recent standoff between the government and the medical circles has led to the public having less confidence in the emergency medical system.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
