"No Envy of Seoul's 'Big 5'... National University Hospitals to Be Developed as Regional Healthcare Hubs"

Ministry of Health and Welfare and Ministry of Education to Build a Self-Sufficient Regional Healthcare System
Comprehensive Support Across Four Key Areas: Clinical Practice, Research, Education, and Public Policy
Expanding Full-Time Faculty and Introducing AI-Based Clinical Systems

In order to address the concentration of healthcare resources in the Seoul metropolitan area and the crisis of regional and essential healthcare collapse, the government has launched comprehensive support measures to elevate regional national university hospitals to the level of major hospitals in Seoul. Regulations will be relaxed to secure outstanding medical personnel, and an advanced artificial intelligence (AI)-based clinical system will be introduced. This initiative encompasses a comprehensive strategy covering clinical practice, research, education, and public healthcare.

Yonhap News Agency

On June 15, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Education announced the "Comprehensive Development Directions for National University Hospitals to Strengthen Regional and Essential Healthcare" at Chungnam National University Hospital in Jung-gu, Daejeon.

The gap in healthcare services between regions in Korea is currently at a critical level. The amenable mortality rate shows a 12.7 percentage point difference between Seoul and North Chungcheong Province, and the annual cost of patients from other regions traveling to the Seoul metropolitan area for medical treatment amounts to as much as 4.6 trillion won. The government plans to nurture national university hospitals as the control towers of a self-sufficient regional healthcare system, aiming to close these gaps and promote balanced national development.

To this end, the infrastructure of regional national university hospitals will be significantly expanded so that serious illnesses, such as cancer, and acute essential medical needs, including emergency and cerebrovascular/cardiovascular care, can be fully addressed within each region.

The number of full-time faculty will be gradually increased to help excellent medical professionals settle in regional areas, and restrictions on labor costs will be revised to reduce the wage gap with private hospitals. Through these efforts, the number of specialists per 10 beds at regional national university hospitals—currently at just 2.3—will be raised to the level of Seoul’s five major hospitals (4.3 per 10 beds). Advanced medical equipment, such as robotic surgical systems and cancer treatment devices, will also be introduced.

To particularly address the shortage of medical personnel, an AI-based clinical system will be implemented. In the short term, support will be provided for diagnostic assistance and real-time monitoring systems, and in the medium to long term, next-generation hospital information systems will be established where AI comprehensively analyzes patients’ medical records and imaging data to develop personalized treatment plans.

In addition, the government will provide focused support for each hospital’s specialized development in connection with core regional industries, such as trauma and rehabilitation in the Southeast, AI-based remote cooperative diagnosis in the Southwest, and advanced regenerative medicine in the Central and Daegyeong regions.

Integration of Clinical Data across National University Hospitals... Becoming Hubs for Innovative New Drug Development

To ensure that regional patients can rapidly benefit from the latest anticancer drugs and advanced treatment technologies, national university hospitals will be developed as research hubs.

The government will support the establishment of core research equipment and secure specialized research personnel, while also expanding the budget for industry-academic-institute-hospital collaborative research and development (R&D). Institutional improvements will be made in parallel to allow hospitals to autonomously focus on research, including the establishment of industry-academic cooperation foundations and affiliated research institutes.

In particular, a large-scale data integration project will be launched to consolidate clinical data from national university hospitals and public hospitals such as the National Cancer Center across the country. This will enable the accumulation of big data comparable to that of major Seoul hospitals, providing a foundation for research on treatments for rare and intractable diseases and the development of high-cost new drugs.

The educational environment will also undergo a complete overhaul. The allocation of residents to regional national university hospitals will be expanded, and advanced procedural training will be provided for residents, medical students, and nurses through clinical education and training centers focused on simulation-based practice. In connection with the planned local physician system, customized education programs will be operated in which local governments and medical schools jointly support students throughout the entire cycle—from student stage to residency and specialist placement.

Furthermore, a "regional cooperative training system" linking national university hospitals with secondary and specialty hospitals in the region will be established. The aim is to help residents gain diverse clinical experience, from treating severe cases to attending to general community patients, thereby fostering specialists with strong practical competencies.

Jeong Eunkyung, Minister of Health and Welfare, speaks at the 'Meeting to Discuss Comprehensive Development Directions for National University Hospitals' held on the 15th at Chungnam National University Hospital in Jung-gu, Daejeon. Ministry of Health and Welfare

Granting 'Control Tower' Authority to Coordinate Regional Healthcare

The authority of national university hospitals to oversee the regional healthcare ecosystem will also be significantly strengthened. The government will expand the participation of national university hospitals in central policy councils, such as the Public Health and Medical Policy Council—the highest-level public health policy deliberation body—so that on-site perspectives are actively reflected in the process of establishing national public and essential healthcare policies.

At the regional level, national university hospitals will serve as the focal points of essential healthcare collaboration systems, overseeing the connection and cooperation among medical institutions, and supporting the joint utilization of limited medical personnel and resources. Standard procedures for referrals and returns by disease and situation will be established among regional medical institutions centered on national university hospitals, and support will be provided for rapid connections to appropriate institutions through performance evaluation and compensation based on collaboration.

To effectively carry out these roles, the heads of national university hospitals will be appointed as co-chairs of city/province essential healthcare committees, further strengthening their authority as control towers.

Jung Eun-Kyung, Minister of Health and Welfare, stated, "Having a national university hospital in the region that you can trust and receive treatment from means that people can live in the area with peace of mind. The government will continue to expand financial and institutional support through communication with the field so that national university hospitals can be established as responsible institutions for essential regional healthcare, as well as key hubs for research, education, and public healthcare."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.