Supervisory Authority for National University Hospitals Changes from Ministry of Education to Ministry of Health and Welfare...Amended Enforcement Decree Passes Cabinet Meeting

To Be Implemented on August 20
Strengthening Key Roles in Regional, Essential, and Public Healthcare

The supervisory authority for national university hospitals and national university dental hospitals will be changed from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. This establishes an institutional foundation for national university hospitals to serve as key hubs for regional, essential, and public healthcare.

On August 11, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Education announced that the partial amendments to the Enforcement Decree of the "National University Hospital Establishment Act" and the "National University Dental Hospital Establishment Act," containing these changes, were approved at the Cabinet meeting.

This amendment is a follow-up measure to the revised "National University Hospital Establishment Act" and "National University Dental Hospital Establishment Act," promulgated on February 19, 2026. The amended laws will take effect from August 20, 2026. Accordingly, the authority over matters related to national university hospitals and national university dental hospitals will shift from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

As a result, the destination for the submission of key documents related to hospital operations—including the business plan and other recommendation documents necessary for the hospital director's nomination process, as well as requests and applications for funding and business plans—will be changed from the Minister of Education to the Minister of Health and Welfare. For national university dental hospitals as well, the submission and reporting of documents such as audit reports, director nomination documents, and documents related to funding and subsidies will now be directed to the Minister of Health and Welfare.

In particular, autonomy in the operation of subordinate organizations will be expanded so that hospitals can respond flexibly to changes in the healthcare environment. In addition to the subordinate organizations specified in current regulations, hospitals will be permitted to establish and operate additional organizations as stipulated in their articles of association.

The government intends to strengthen the linkage between national university hospitals and public health policy through this transfer of jurisdiction. The policy aims to establish an institutional foundation enabling regional national university hospitals to maintain their role as teaching hospitals for medical colleges, while also serving as key hub hospitals for regional, essential, and public healthcare.

The amended enforcement decrees will enter into force on August 20, 2026, along with the main legislation. The Ministry of Health and Welfare stated, "We will complete the process of changing the supervisory authority in line with the implementation of the law and enforcement decrees without any setbacks, and we will support national university hospitals in coordinating regional medical resources so that essential healthcare needed within regions can be provided and completed locally under a regionally integrated healthcare system."

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