- City improves access to medicine by adding ten more pharmacies 

in Seo-gu (Geomdan and Cheongna) and Yeonsu-gu -

Incheon Metropolitan City (Mayor: Yoo Jeong-bok) says it is adding more public late-night pharmacies this year, bringing the total from 13 at the end of last year to a total of 27 in eight districts across Incheon as of the end of June.

Last year, Seo-gu (Geomdan, Cheongna) and Yeonsu-gu residents has no late-night pharmacies nearby. Fortunately, however, this year, Incheon designated 10 new public late-night pharmacies across Seo-gu and Yeonsu-gu. This means that wherever you are in Incheon, you can find a public late-night pharmacy within a 3km radius (15 minutes)

Public late-night pharmacies sell medicines and offer advice on medication for emergencies during late-night hours (10:00 pm to 1:00 am, including holidays). 

The number of public late-night pharmacies in Incheon, first of which was created in 2019 (three pharmacies), increased to five in 2020, 11 in 2021, and 13 in 2022. This month, the initiative will take a massive leap forward to reach 27 in total.

Ganghwa and Ongjin are exceptions. Given the sparse population, there is little demand for pharmacies during late-night hours. Thus, the City has been unable to find a pharmacy willing to stay open at night. Incheon plans to weigh its options and find a solution that works instead of public late-night pharmacies to make sure it keeps both locals and tourists healthy at all times.

Meanwhile, Incheon inspects public late-night pharmacies at least once a month. Special inspections on late-night pharmacies between June 20 to July 2, confirmed that all 27 locations were open as required during late-night hours.

Shin Nam-sik, Director of the Health and Welfare Bureau of Incheon, said, “Expanding the list of public late-night pharmacies is meaningful in providing public medical services to all citizens of Incheon without any gaps.” He added, “We will explore all of the options at our disposal, such as securing additional public late-night pharmacies and setting the minimum number of days each pharmacy has to open in order to provide helpful public late-night pharmacy services.”