The hospital's obstetric service had been down to two doctors, a director in his 70s and a specialist in his 60s. When the specialist moved to resign, the director decided he could not carry on at his age, the Kyunghyang Shinmun reported, citing the city government's Aug. 6 announcement.
The Seoul Shinmun reported that the closure covers the entire hospital, not the delivery room alone.
Opened in 1986, Jeil was one of the largest hospitals in the area, with 79 beds and departments in obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, anesthesiology and pediatrics. It has handled more than 20,000 deliveries, according to The Korea Times.
Deliveries once ran at about 400 a year before falling into the 200s, then to 107 in 2024 and 108 in 2025.
The hospital recorded 58 through June this year, an average of eight or nine a month, while losing roughly 150 million won ($102,000) a month, The Korea Times reported.
