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Korean gov't to push on with health care reform despite calls to scrap plan

Published: 10 Apr. 2025, 11:27 Updated: 10 Apr. 2025, 18:32

Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo speaks during a meeting at the Government Complex Seoul in central Seoul on April 10. [NEWS1]

The Korean government will move forward with its health care reform initiatives, including a 280 billion won ($191 million) investment this year to improve the training environment for medical residents, despite calls from the medical community to scrap existing plans and start over after former President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment.

Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo reaffirmed the administration’s stance during a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on Thursday at the Government Complex Seoul in central Seoul.

"We will steadily push forward with our medical reform initiatives, including efforts to improve training conditions for residents," Park said.

Park stressed that the government has already begun implementing policies announced as part of its first-phase reform plan.

"Tasks such as nurturing regional secondary hospitals, managing non-reimbursed treatments and strengthening the safety net for medical accidents are already underway. Even the medical community acknowledges the urgency of these initiatives," he said.

The Korean Medical Association held a briefing on Tuesday and formally called for the disbandment of the Presidential Commission on Medical Reform. It also asked the government and political parties to open a new channel for dialogue. Park did not comment on the request for talks.

Park reiterated that the government considers resident training reform one of the key priorities in its medical reform agenda.

"We included it as a core task in last August’s first-phase reform blueprint. For this year, we secured a 278.8 billion won budget to strengthen the state's responsibility in producing specialists," he said.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to provide structured training to residents under the supervision of certified specialists and fund the associated costs. The government will also expand a pilot program launched last year aimed at reducing excessive working hours.

Currently, residents often work up to 80 hours per week. The revised program will limit their weekly hours to 72 and cap consecutive shifts at 24 hours.

The government maintains that its reform efforts remain essential and will continue as planned, even in the face of resistance from within the medical profession.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.

BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]