The Korean government decided to keep the health insurance premiums unchanged at 7.09 percent for 2024 due to high inflation and interest rates. 

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that it convened a meeting of the health insurance policy deliberation committee on Tuesday afternoon and determined to keep the monthly premium rate unchanged.

This marks the first freeze in seven years and the third one, following freezes at 5.08 percent in 2009 and 6.12 percent in 2017.

The ministry explained that freezing health insurance premiums is intended to alleviate the economic burdens faced by the Korean population, which has been grappling with recent increases in consumer prices and interest rates.

In 2022, the consumer price growth marked 5.1 percent, the highest since 1998 when consumer inflation hit 7.5 percent following the Asian financial crisis, according to Statistics Korea. 

South Korea operates a universal health insurance system, requiring both citizens and foreigners living in Korea to subscribe to the program.

Although the government has stated that the health insurance reserve stands at a healthy 23.9 trillion won, there are concerns that it could deplete rapidly due to the rapid aging of the population.

Jung Ki-suck, president of the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), expressed his concerns at an August press conference, stating, "Considering various indicators, if we freeze the health insurance premium rate, there will certainly be a deficit. A 1-percentage-point premium rate increase is necessary for the financial stability of the NHIS."