Minister of Health and Welfare Jeong Eun-kyeong presents the government's healthcare strategy at a meeting on regional, essential and public medicine held at Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday, chaired by President Lee Jae Myung. From right: President Lee Jae Myung, Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong and Jeong Ki-hyeon, chair of the Medical Innovation Committee. [Yonhap]
Minister of Health and Welfare Jeong Eun-kyeong presents the government's healthcare strategy at a meeting on regional, essential and public medicine held at Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday, chaired by President Lee Jae Myung. From right: President Lee Jae Myung, Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong and Jeong Ki-hyeon, chair of the Medical Innovation Committee. [Yonhap]

The government will introduce a maternal registration system in medically underserved areas to strengthen the country's regional maternal and child healthcare network, ensuring that high-risk mothers and others receive timely care throughout pregnancy, delivery and postnatal recovery regardless of where they live.

The government also plans to establish public health clinics to address the growing healthcare gap in rural and fishing communities, which has worsened as the number of public health doctors has fallen sharply.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the strategy Wednesday under the goal of "universal healthcare access — proper treatment no matter where you live," outlining plans to strengthen regional, essential and public medical services.

The ministry said it would pursue four pillars: building a self-sufficient regional healthcare supply system, strengthening national responsibility for essential medicine, reforming the public health infrastructure, and reinforcing the foundations needed to carry out the plan.

Tiered care zones to anchor self-sufficient regional healthcare system

The ministry plans to divide the country into large, mid-size and small care zones — five major regional hubs and three special zones at the top tier, clusters of one to eight counties in the middle, and individual counties at the base — to build a system in which patients can receive appropriate care for their condition close to home.

Within the large care zones, national university hospitals will work alongside regional tertiary hospitals to handle complex and severe cases. The government intends to develop regional national university hospitals to a standard comparable to the top five hospitals in the Greater Seoul area.

Mid-size zones will rely on regional public hospitals such as local medical centers, along with strong secondary hospitals, to treat moderately ill patients. The ministry will expand support for regional public hospitals and comprehensive secondary general hospitals.

Small care zones will focus on treating minor ailments and providing broad health management. The government will introduce a Korean-style primary care physician model in which neighborhood clinics form teams to deliver tailored care and health management, while consolidating existing health sub-centers and clinics into integrated community health posts.

Particularly in small care zones, the ministry plans to introduce public health clinics that serve as centralized hubs for local medical services.

The ministry developed the public health clinic concept in response to deepening healthcare gaps caused by rural population decline and a sharp drop in the number of public health doctors, concluding that a new model for delivering medical services in these areas was needed.

While the exact form has yet to be finalized, options under discussion include having central or local governments provide facilities and infrastructure and then contracting with public and private medical personnel to staff them — effectively designating them as local healthcare providers through lease or contract arrangements.

The public health clinics would serve as hubs for local medical services, taking on responsibilities such as regular mobile outreach visits and remote consultations delivered through community health workers, including nurses.

Maternal registration system for underserved areas; expanded compensation for unavoidable medical accidents

The government will also strengthen the maternal and child healthcare system for high-risk mothers and newborns.

The number of severe maternal and child care centers will expand from the current two to six, and operating subsidies for centers outside the Greater Seoul area will increase.

Centers outside the Greater Seoul area will be allowed to hire senior physicians and adopt flexible staffing arrangements — including rotating shifts and part-time positions — to help ease personnel shortages.

Medical staff handling deliveries and newborn care at maternal and child care centers will receive special allowances, and performance-based incentives will also be made available.

A maternal registration system will be introduced as early as next year, starting in medically underserved areas.

Registered mothers will receive support for routine medical care, and a designated hospital and maternal care center will be assigned in advance so that emergency cases can be prioritized for transfer and handled quickly.

The ministry is also reviewing plans to provide mobile medical services in the 20 counties that have no outpatient obstetrics clinic, and to cover transportation and accommodation costs for mothers in those areas who seek care at facilities in other regions.

To strengthen pediatric care, the government plans to introduce a pediatric primary care physician system starting in areas with declining populations, and is reviewing whether to allow remote consultations for children at hospital-level facilities during nights and holidays.

Expanded support for regional public hospitals; medical workforce regulations to be eased

The government will develop both central and regional public hospitals into institutions capable of delivering high-quality medical services.

The National Medical Center, the country's central public hospital, will be upgraded to the level of a top-tier tertiary hospital.

Following a relocation and new construction project currently underway, the center's bed capacity will expand in stages to more than 1,000. It will also be equipped with specialized public health functions, including a national trauma center and a national infectious disease hospital.

Regional public hospitals will be developed according to their individual characteristics and local healthcare conditions, with facilities designated as general-purpose, essential medicine-focused, rehabilitation-oriented or other specialized types.

Particularly in regional public hospitals outside the Greater Seoul area, all wards across entire facilities will provide nursing care services, taking into account the aging trend in those communities.

The government will also continue to create conditions that allow medical professionals to work long-term in essential medicine fields in regional areas.

As a first step, the ministry plans to ease workforce regulations to allow medical personnel to work rotating shifts or part-time across multiple hospitals within a region.

Under current rules, medical institutions that do not maintain full-time staff above a certain threshold face penalties in government evaluations, significantly restricting flexible working arrangements and regional mobility for medical workers. The ministry said it will ease regulations in areas with medical personnel shortages to allow a wider range of working arrangements.

"We will make sure this administration resolves the problems facing regional and essential healthcare," Minister of Health and Welfare Jeong Eun-kyeong said. "We will revitalize regional medicine, build a government that saves lives, and drive locally led growth centered on the five major hubs and three special zones."


thlee@heraldcorp.com