National University Hospitals to Be Upgraded to 'Big 5' Level... Annual 400 Billion Won Regional Reimbursement Introduced

Government Announces 'Strategy for Strengthening Regional, Essential, and Public Healthcare'

Addressing Local Healthcare Gaps with the 'Five-pole Three-special' Medical Network

Establishing Public Health Clinics as Key Medical Hubs in Rural

The government is undertaking a sweeping regional healthcare reform to address the imbalance in medical services between the Seoul metropolitan area and other regions by restructuring the national medical system into a “5 Poles 3 Characteristics-Major Medical Service Areas-Minor Medical Service Areas” model. Local national university hospitals will be developed to the standard of the "Big 5 Hospitals" in the Seoul capital region, and the government will significantly strengthen national responsibility for regional healthcare by introducing a special accounting system for essential regional medical services and establishing new region-based reimbursement rates.

Medical System Plan by Medical Service Area

On July 22, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced this plan, titled “Strategy to Strengthen Regional, Essential, and Public Healthcare,” at the “Regional, Essential, and Public Healthcare Roundtable” held at the Blue House and presided over by President Lee Jaemyung. The core objective is to realize “universal access to quality medical care, regardless of where you live,” and the focus is on building a complete medical care system that enables most healthcare services to be provided within each region.

This strategy is a comprehensive plan designed to address the structural problems of regional healthcare disparities, gaps in essential medical services, and weaknesses in public healthcare. The government explained that the policy was drafted through public panels, nationwide surveys, and regional roundtable discussions.

The government will first restructure the healthcare delivery system into three stages: ▲Major Medical Service Areas (5 Poles 3 Characteristics) ▲Intermediate Medical Service Areas (70 regions) ▲Minor Medical Service Areas (cities, counties, and districts). In the Major Medical Service Areas, the 10 national university hospitals will be developed to have critical care capabilities equivalent to the “Big 5 Hospitals” in Seoul. To achieve this, the number of full-time professors will be increased by more than 30% over current levels, and investment in specialized centers for essential care such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases will be expanded. In addition, local physician training through rotations, increasing the quota for medical residents, and the introduction of a separate health insurance evaluation and compensation system will be implemented to both develop local healthcare professionals and enhance hospital competitiveness.

In the Intermediate Medical Service Areas, 41 regional base public hospitals—including local medical centers and Korean Red Cross hospitals—will be expanded, and the number of comprehensive community hospitals will be increased from 175 to 195. The amount of financial support will rise from 700 billion won to 900 billion won, so that most moderate-level illnesses can be treated within the region. For medically vulnerable rural areas, regional base public hospitals will be relocated or newly constructed with priority.

In the Minor Medical Service Areas, a Korean-style primary care physician system will be introduced, and new public health clinics (tentative name) will be established to handle basic outpatient care and health management. The number of home medical care centers will be increased to 650 by 2030, and for islands and remote mountain regions, measures to resolve healthcare gaps in rural areas will include allowing medicine delivery after telemedicine consultations.

Specialized Power Generation Plan Linked to 5 Poles and 3 Characteristics

New region-based reimbursement rates... Enhanced national responsibility for emergency, trauma, and obstetric care

Financial support for regional healthcare will also be greatly expanded. Starting next year, a new special accounting fund for essential regional medical services totaling 1.2 trillion won will be established, allocating more support to local and essential healthcare services. The national health insurance program will introduce region-based reimbursement rates totaling 400 billion won annually, providing additional compensation for essential regional medical care. Hospitalization and consultation fees will be increased by 5% for general hospitals in areas with declining populations, and reimbursement rates for surgery and high-risk deliveries outside the Seoul metropolitan area will be increased by up to 100%.

For essential medical care, the government will strengthen its responsibility in the areas of emergency, trauma, obstetrics, and pediatrics. Regional emergency medical centers will be reorganized into critical emergency medical centers, increasing from 53 centers this year to about 60 centers by 2030. A pilot project to overhaul the emergency patient transfer system will be expanded nationwide this September so that critical patients can be transferred quickly to appropriate hospitals.

In the field of trauma care, regional trauma centers will be expanded, the number of doctor helicopters will be increased from eight to twelve, and joint operation of military and fire department helicopters will be enhanced. For high-risk pregnant women, severe maternal-fetal medical centers will be expanded from the current two to six, and a maternal registration system will be introduced in medically underserved areas. The number of “Moonlight Children’s Hospitals” will be increased to 153 this year, and a pediatrician-as-primary-care-provider system will be introduced, centered on areas with declining populations.

A safety net to reduce the burden on medical professionals will also be established. The government will introduce mandatory medical malpractice insurance and provide damage compensation of up to 1.8 billion won in emergency, obstetric, and pediatric fields. For high-risk essential medical accidents that do not involve gross negligence, criminal penalties will be mitigated and prosecutions restricted. The range of cases in which complaints can only be filed by victims will be extended from minor injuries to include serious injuries, and compensation for unavoidable medical accidents will be increased from 30 million to 300 million won. The government will also reform the health insurance fee structure by allocating 3.6 trillion won annually to increase the reimbursement rates for essential and critical care services, while adjusting overcompensated rates such as those for MRI scans.

Health Insurance Fee Structure Reform

Establishment of national medical graduate school... Training over 100 local physicians annually

To innovate the public healthcare system, the National Medical Center will be relocated and newly constructed as a top-tier tertiary hospital by 2031, expanding to over 1,000 beds. A new national medical graduate school will also be established to train over 100 public healthcare professionals each year. Graduates from this institution will be required to serve a 15-year tenure in the field of public healthcare. The 41 regional base public hospitals will be categorized and developed based on local needs as "comprehensive hospitals," "essential care-focused hospitals," or "function-specialized hospitals," and hospitals outside the Seoul area will provide integrated nursing care in all wards.

Personnel utilization regulations—such as rotational and part-time work—will be relaxed, and the contractual regional essential physician system will be expanded nationwide by next year. In the medium to long term, the regional physician system will train 2,942 doctors every year from 2027 to 2031 who will be required to serve for 10 years in the region, and new medical schools will be established in areas that currently have none. Artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for clinical and administrative support will be distributed to health centers, and a “public healthcare AI superhighway” will be built to support the preparation of medical records, image reading, and more.

Minister of Health and Welfare Chung Eun-kyung emphasized, "This administration will solve the issues surrounding regional and essential healthcare no matter what. We will realize a government that saves lives by revitalizing regional healthcare and drive locally-led growth centered on the 5 Poles 3 Characteristics system."

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