First special account for regional essential care created

National university hospital budget to rise from W115.4b to W255.1b

Higher education investment to expand from W16.3tr to W19.3tr

Park Hong-keun, minister of the Ministry of Planning and Budget [The Herald Business DB]
Park Hong-keun, minister of the Ministry of Planning and Budget [The Herald Business DB]

The government will create a special account worth 1.3 trillion won ($972 million) next year to expand essential medical care in regions outside the capital. It will also more than double support for flagship national university hospitals, from 115.4 billion won this year to 255.1 billion won next year. It aims to develop them into core medical institutions under the government's "five-pole, three-special zone" regional development framework.

Minister Park Hong-keun of the Ministry of Planning and Budget visited Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan National University and a public health center in Gijang-gun in turn on Thursday to review investment plans under the 2027 budget for regional essential care and higher education.

The government will create the special account for regional essential care next year and concentrate investment in three areas: strengthening the role of local governments, developing flagship national university hospitals under the "five-pole, three-special zone" framework, and building a regional-centered system for training essential medical personnel.

First, the government newly allocated 360.5 billion won for a "locally led project to resolve medical service gaps." This project supports local governments in directly planning and carrying out medical projects needed in their regions. It is a comprehensive funding scheme that lets local governments design projects tailored to their own circumstances.

Support for flagship national university hospitals will rise by 139.7 billion won, from 115.4 billion won this year to 255.1 billion won next year. Of that, 118.8 billion won will go toward selecting a specialized field for each hospital and bundling support for advanced facilities and equipment, recruiting top medical staff, and technology cooperation. The government also set aside another 16.2 billion won to help cover labor costs for hiring new specialists in essential medical fields and to boost compensation for existing medical staff.

Financial support for training regional essential medical personnel will also expand. The government will spend 4.4 billion won on tuition and housing assistance for students in the regional doctor program and on operating regional doctor support centers. Support for the contract-based regional essential doctor program will rise from 13.6 billion won this year to 44.8 billion won next year. Support for senior doctors will grow from 16 billion won to 22 billion won, and funding for the public health scholarship system will expand from 12.4 billion won to 23.1 billion won.

This year, the government already restructured national health insurance fee premiums to focus on regional essential care, expanding annual fee compensation by 3.6 trillion won. It now plans to further strengthen regional medical infrastructure through the new special account.

Park said Thursday that the government would provide necessary support for the construction of a new Pusan National University hospital, a project that cleared a preliminary feasibility study. The new hospital will be built as a global hub medical center at a total cost of 706.5 billion won.

Next year's higher education budget will rise to 19.3 trillion won, up 3 trillion won, or 18.4 percent, from 16.3 trillion won this year. That growth rate is 5.6 percentage points higher than the government's overall spending increase of 12.8 percent.

The government will create a 700 billion won future talent growth fund to support education and research innovation at regional universities. It will also provide 80 billion won per university under a competitiveness-strengthening package for flagship national universities. Another 600 billion won will go toward expanding the education and research infrastructure of regional flagship universities.

To cultivate talent in AI and other advanced fields, the government will increase the number of junior colleges focused on AI and digital transformation from 24 to 48. It will also launch a new "AI zero-barrier university" program that uses universities as hubs for AI retraining. The budget for basic AI education for college students will expand from 8.5 billion won to 20.2 billion won. The government will also newly allocate 20 billion won to support joint AI subscription services for college students.

The number of students receiving full scholarships at regional national universities and at regionally specialized private universities will each expand from 4,000 to 10,000. The government will also support the participation of 4,000 students in a youth career project and 50,000 students in talent-development boot camps.

Park then visited a public health center in Gijang-gun to review chronic disease prevention, health management and integrated care services. The government plans to strengthen the regional medical functions of public health centers by supporting on-site personnel and building remote consultation networks.


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