Public Hospitals to Be Restructured, Regional Physicians to Serve 10 Years... Five-Year Plan Discussed

Ministry of Health and Welfare holds public hearing on draft 'Third Basic Plan for Public Health and Medical Services'
National Medical Center to be upgraded to central hospital; national university hospitals developed as regional hubs
Public Healthcare AI Highway to expand to 72 hospitals by 2029

The government will reorganize the role of public medical institutions and focus on securing medical personnel who will settle in local communities to narrow regional gaps in healthcare. It will train personnel for essential and public healthcare through the Regional Physician System and a national graduate school of medicine, gradually introduce artificial intelligence (AI) treatment systems at public hospitals, and establish a special account for essential regional healthcare starting next year, with an annual budget of more than 1 trillion won.

On November 5, the Ministry of Health and Welfare held a public hearing at the National Medical Center in Seoul on a draft of the Third Basic Plan for Public Health and Medical Services (2026-2030) and released details of the plan.

With the vision of "establishing a public health and medical services system that enables people to receive treatment with confidence wherever they are," the draft aims to narrow the gap in self-sufficiency rates between regions from 1.59 times in 2024 to 1.35 times by 2030, and the gap in amenable mortality rates from 1.27 times to 1.24 times.

To achieve these goals, the government will pursue three strategic initiatives and 10 key tasks: reforming public healthcare governance, strengthening the functions and roles of public medical institutions, and bolstering the public healthcare workforce and infrastructure.

First, the government will shift the central-government-led structure for making and implementing public healthcare policy to a region-led system. It will expand the authority of city and provincial public health and medical services committees to formulate policies, evaluate performance, and allocate personnel and budgets. Regional responsible medical institutions will serve as control towers for local healthcare cooperation networks.

The functions of public medical institutions will also be reorganized. The National Medical Center will be developed into a central hospital overseeing essential medical care and public healthcare policy. By 2031, it is scheduled to be rebuilt and relocated to Bangsan-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, increasing its bed capacity from the current 499 to 776. The main hospital, infectious disease hospital, and trauma center will be built as an integrated complex. National university hospitals will be developed as regional hub hospitals, while 41 regional public hospitals will strengthen their capabilities by specializing as function-specific hospitals, essential-care-focused hospitals, or comprehensive secondary-care hospitals.

Under the Regional Physician System, introduced to secure local medical personnel, 490 students will be admitted in the 2027 academic year, followed by 613 students annually from the 2028 through 2031 academic years. Those selected will be required to work for 10 years at public health and medical institutions and other facilities within their assigned service regions. A national graduate school of medicine will be established as a four-year graduate university with around 100 places, with plans to open in 2029. Graduates will be required to serve for 15 years at public health and medical institutions and other facilities.

The government will also pursue the digital transformation of public healthcare. The Public Healthcare AI Highway will begin operating at nine institutions in the second half of this year, with plans to expand to 30-35 sites in 2027, 45-50 in 2028, and 72 in 2029. A digital medical information exchange system between public hospitals will be developed and piloted in 2027-2028, before its official launch in 2029.

In addition, starting next year, the government will establish a special account for essential regional healthcare with an annual budget of more than 1 trillion won to provide comprehensive support for essential medical personnel, institutions, and infrastructure in local communities. Areas served by medical institutions will be designated and publicly announced every five years to build healthcare systems suited to each region's medical resources and needs.

The draft will be finalized after incorporating feedback from the public hearing and consulting with relevant government agencies, followed by deliberation by the Public Health and Medical Services Policy Review Committee. Lee Junggyu, director general for public healthcare policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said, "The role of public healthcare has become more important than ever as we work to resolve the crisis in regional and essential medical care. We will establish a public health and medical services system that people can see and feel by reforming the public healthcare operating system, strengthening the role of public medical institutions, and securing public healthcare personnel."

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