National university hospitals [provided by each hospital]
National university hospitals [provided by each hospital]

National university hospitals will now submit key operational documents — including business plans — to the Minister of Health and Welfare rather than the Minister of Education. They will also be allowed to define their suborganizational structures through their own charters, enabling more flexible responses to changes in the healthcare environment.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Education said Tuesday that the Cabinet approved amendments to the enforcement decrees of the National University Hospital Establishment Act and the National University Dental Hospital Establishment Act.

The amendments follow revisions to the two establishment laws that transferred supervisory authority over national university hospitals from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, a move aimed at systematically strengthening the hospitals' capabilities.

Under the revised decrees, key operational documents — including management plans submitted when recommending hospital directors, grant and subsidy requests and payment applications, and business plans — must now be submitted to the Minister of Health and Welfare instead of the Minister of Education.

The amendments also establish a legal basis allowing hospitals to define additional suborganizational units through their charters, beyond those specified in existing statutes, so they can respond more flexibly to shifts in the healthcare environment.

The government said the revisions lay an institutional foundation to strengthen the link between national university hospitals and public health policy, allowing regional national university hospitals to maintain their autonomy as educational institutions while serving as core hubs for regional, essential and public healthcare.

The revised decrees take effect Aug. 20, when the parent laws enter into force.


thlee@heraldcorp.com