It's a phenomenon that is happening in many countries around the world. Medical associations pour huge amount of money into lobbying and restrict the number of new doctors to increase their members' individual wealth at the cost of public health. (Medical spending as a whole does not decrease while less number of doctors share that pie)

It's more extreme and visible in South Korea because it is considerably later stage capitalism than some other countries, but the profit motive has been killing people for a long time. Not just in pharmaceutical industry, but from doctors themselves in the form of their associations.