Health ministry to continue tertiary hospital restructuring under Lee administration

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said that even after the inauguration of the Lee Jae-myung administration, some flagship healthcare reform projects initiated by the former Yoon Suk Yeol administration will remain unchanged.

The ministry cited two examples -- the Support Project for Restructuring Tertiary General Hospitals and the Support Project for Comprehensive Secondary General Hospitals.

A ministry official explained to Korea Biomedical Review the future direction of the healthcare reform projects initiated by the Yoon administration, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

“Both projects are related to the reorganization of the medical delivery system, and the message from the Democratic Party of Korea (after the presidential election) was that the Tertiary Hospital Restructuring Support Project is inevitable,” the official said.

Since President Lee’s campaign pledges included the provision of right-to-care-based essential medical services and the separation of functions, he explained that the framework of ongoing projects such as the tertiary general hospital restructuring and comprehensive secondary general hospital projects will not change.

However, since the tertiary hospital restructuring is not a top-down project but a policy proposal from the bottom up, the ministry is still reviewing areas that need to be supplemented in its second year, the official said. “We will continue to discuss and supplement suitable disease groups to determine severity—an issue raised by orthopedics and others.”

He said the Comprehensive Secondary General Hospital Support Project, which recently concluded a briefing session for medical institutions and is recruiting participating organizations until next Wednesday, is also proceeding as planned without major changes.

"As we understand, there were many inquiries from frontline medical institutions during the briefing and many calls expressing interest in participation,” he said. "We are recruiting until next Wednesday, but we don’t view it as a hard deadline. We expect a large number of applications next week."

Commenting on the future of the healthcare reform task force—organized within the Ministry of Health and Welfare to support the special committee on healthcare reform launched by the Yoon administration—the official said its continuation would depend on the new government’s policy direction. The task force’s activities were extended until December by the acting president following Yoon’s impeachment.

“At the beginning of the new government, the main task is to maintain existing policies from the previous administration and improve those that require adjustment,” he said. "Our ministry needs to provide support, which is the task force's role. However, its activities remain fluid, depending on future governance direction."

The official added that the task force is currently authorized to operate until December under a presidential decree. Unless that decree is changed, the task force will continue supporting the healthcare reform projects.

(Caption)

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it would continue to push ahead with the tertiary general hospital restructuring support project and the comprehensive secondary general hospital support project promoted by the former Yoon Suk Yeol administration without any significant changes. (KBR photo)