Notwithstanding that from July 1958 medical social work began also in Korea, military hospitals in Korea have not officially hired medical social workers yet. Such being the case, military personnel cannot have medical social service, including healthcare and welfare, in military hospitals. This study is to ascertain how the medical social work intervenes in the illness of military personnel, as well as how oncology social work, including psycho-oncology part, and hospice social work intervene in the psychosocial distress of cancer patients, to which a soldier who had leukemia while serving in the military was subject. In this regard, this study was focused on grasping the real state of Korean military’s healthcare delivery system. The results of this study is expected to be the preliminary data of medical social work in the Korean military/ This study was carried out from September 2005 until April 2009, intended for a soldier who had acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (M/21), on the authority of domestic and foreign references, interviews with the patient and his family, the medical record and the record of social work. In recent times Korean Ministry of National Defense has operated 19 military hospitals along with 6,586 sickbeds in all, and has established ties with 249 civilian hospitals in each district. Also as of 2009, it allocated 181.2 billion won (about 181 million dollar) to health insurance. As a result, many soldiers and officers depend on civilian hospitals and also long-service army doctors account for just 25%. The subject was appointed as a patriot (level 3) after death in accordance with the medical health coverage in force, the medical aid for the military personnel who get ill while serving in the military (No.30 regulation of Korean Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs), related legislations and regulations, cancer care acts, the criterion for beneficiaries and the intervention of medical social work, in addition to the clinical understanding of leukemia patients’ psychosocial distresses. And his parents were designated as the bereaved. In order to provide high-quality medical social welfare service to Korean soldiers and officers who visit military hospitals, it is urgently necessary for military hospitals to hire medical social workers who are well-trained and qualified.
Key words : Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), Medical Social Welfare in the Military, Oncology Social Work, Healthcare Delivery System in the Military