National Pilot Program for Antimicrobial Stewardship in the Republic of Korea

How did the Republic of Korea’s national pilot program for antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) establish a standardized, government-supported framework to optimize antibiotic use in hospitals?This special communication describes the first nationwide, government-coordinated AMS pilot in Korea, implemented across hospitals with over 300 beds beginning in November 2024. The program mandates multidisciplinary AMS teams, performance-linked funding, and standardized audit and feedback systems; so far the program has demonstrated feasibility and system-level engagement but also revealed persistent workforce and capacity gaps.These findings suggest that a government-led, policy-integrated AMS framework can accelerate stewardship implementation and offer a scalable model for countries confronting rising antimicrobial resistance.

Corresponding Author: Hong Bin Kim, MD, PhD, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital and Seoul National University College of Medicine, 82, Gumi-ro 173 Beon-gil, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do 13620, Republic of Korea (hbkimmd@snu.ac.kr).

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