[Second Half Work Report] 3.6 Trillion Won Investment in Regional and Essential Healthcare... Expansion of Nationally Responsible Welfare

Ministry of Health and Welfare Launches Full-Scale Implementation of 'Seven Major Reform Initiatives' for the Second Half

Creation of Special Regional Essential Healthcare Fund

'AI Basic Medical Strategy' to Be Fully Activated

Comprehensive Reforms for Basic Pension, Youth Welfare, and Integrated Care

The government will actively pursue its health and welfare policies for the second half of the year, focusing on large-scale investments in regional and essential healthcare, AI-powered medical innovation, and a revamp of the emergency welfare system. The plan is to overhaul the medical and welfare systems to respond to multiple crises, such as the collapse of local healthcare, super-aging, and declining birth rates, and to strengthen a social safety net that people can truly experience.

On the 15th, Minister Jeong Eun-kyung spoke at the pre-briefing for the Ministry of Health and Welfare's second half of 2026 work report held at the Government Sejong Complex. Ministry of Health and Welfare

On July 16, at a government work report meeting held at the Blue House Yeongbingwan, the Ministry of Health and Welfare reported these key initiatives for the second half of the year to President Lee Jaemyung. With the vision of "A Welfare State That Respects Life, Korea Leaping Forward Together," the ministry presented seven core initiatives: ▲A social safety net that saves lives ▲Nationally responsible care ▲A sustainable pension system ▲Youth leap welfare ▲Regional healthcare with five hubs and three specialized zones ▲Bio·AI-based growth engines ▲A trusted health and welfare system.

The main focus of the second half-year work plan is increasing investments in regional and essential healthcare. To establish a region-led healthcare system, the government will create a special regional essential healthcare fund worth KRW 1.2 trillion annually, and for the first time in 25 years, overhaul the national health insurance fee structure, with KRW 3.6 trillion earmarked annually for regional and essential medical care. The special fund will prioritize support for medically underserved areas and public healthcare institutions. In addition, by improving the structure of excessive treatments such as imaging and specimen tests, the government aims to save KRW 2.6 trillion per year in fiscal expenditures.

National university hospitals will be developed as top-tier institutions for severe and complex diseases, while regional medical centers will expand their capabilities for emergency, surgical, and critical care. The government plans to expand the contractual regional essential physician system nationwide and strengthen the foundation of local medical personnel by introducing a regional doctor system and establishing new national medical graduate schools.

To this end, the government will invest in infrastructure, medical personnel, and AI transformation (AX), as well as increase the number of full-time faculty. It will also establish a training system in partnership with local medical institutions. Regional medical centers will expand their capacity for emergency, surgical, and critical care, and by hiring senior physicians and supporting dispatched staff, will enhance essential healthcare functions. In rural and fishing areas, the plan is to minimize gaps in medical care by promoting remote cooperative care centered on public health sub-centers and public health clinics.

Medical AI has also been presented as a core national growth strategy. The "AI Basic Medical Strategy," to be announced this month, will apply AI throughout the entire cycle of prevention, treatment, and emergency care, accelerating AI transformation (AX) in the medical ecosystem. The government will expand access to national bio big data and clinical data from national university hospitals, and establish a medical imaging sharing platform to reduce repeated CT and MRI scans when patients move between hospitals. Medical institutions will be able to verify patients' imaging histories in real time and utilize existing images when necessary through a newly built system.

In addition, to strengthen emergency and essential healthcare, the national emergency patient transfer system will be expanded nationwide, and the number of regional emergency medical centers will increase to as many as 60. The treatment system for high-risk pregnant women and newborns will also be organized as a nationwide collaboration system, while the health insurance coverage for caregiving costs at long-term care hospitals and the institutionalization of sickness allowance will be promoted to simultaneously reduce the burden of medical expenses and income gaps.

Strengthening Welfare Across Life Stages...Expanding Safety Nets for Vulnerable Groups

In the welfare sector, the government will push to shift from a "welfare upon request" approach to "proactive welfare initiated by the government." Emergency welfare support will be linked so that households in financial crisis and victims of illegal private financing can be identified early and provided with small-scale emergency living expenses directly at the community level. Automatic payment of child allowances and parental benefits will also be introduced. Integrated care, currently focused mainly on the elderly, will be expanded step by step to include people with disabilities and those with mental health conditions, and home-based medical services such as home rehabilitation will be enhanced to build a community-centered care system.

Pension reform has also been identified as a core task for the second half. The government will restructure the basic pension—which is currently paid evenly to all recipients—so that lower-income households receive more support ("more for those with less"), and revise the selection criteria, which currently cover "70% of seniors." Currently, when both members of a couple receive the basic pension, each pension payment is reduced by 20%. The government plans to improve these unreasonable practices through ample social discussion and strengthen old-age income security for low-income groups.

The National Pension Fund will expand responsible investment practices, considering environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors even in alternative investments, and strengthen stewardship responsibilities, such as monitoring and assessing proxy voting by external managers. These measures are intended to continue the fund's record performance—an 18.82% return projected for 2025—since its establishment. A ministry official stated, "Through discussions at the National Assembly's pension special committee, we will work to establish a multi-layered old-age income security system, including the basic pension, national pension, retirement pension, and personal pension."

For suicide prevention, the government will increase the number of counseling staff from 103 to 200 and build a 24-hour response network in cooperation with the police and fire departments. From January to April this year, the number of suicides decreased by an average of 12.9% compared to the same period last year, so the government intends to extend this trend by expanding institutional and system linkages to address risk factors such as debt that may induce suicide.

To help young people continue their National Pension enrollment periods, the government will provide KRW 42,000 as support toward their first premium payment. The period recognized for National Pension coverage during military service will be extended from the current 12 months to the entire duration of service, and, depending on the number of children, the coverage period for childbirth will be set at 12 months for the first child and 15 months for the second. The government will also design and study various income security measures to support young people facing structural risks such as joblessness, income gaps, and social isolation, and actively discover health and welfare youth jobs.

Minister Jeong Eun-gyeong of the Ministry of Health and Welfare stated, "We will expand our proactive 'life-saving welfare policies' to leave no one behind and protect the nation's health through groundbreaking investment in regional and essential healthcare systems." She emphasized, "By fostering bio and AI as future growth engines, we will push forward health and welfare innovation that people can truly feel."

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