Mayor Choi Hyundeok Welcomes Bill for 80% National Funding of Long-Term Care; City Expects KRW 40.8 Billion in Savings

Namyangju Mayor Choi Hyundeok repeatedly makes proposals to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Assembly
Amendment includes provision for the national government to cover at least 80%
Namyangju estimates local funding burden will fall from KRW 77.6 billion to KRW 15.5 billion

Choi Hyundeok, mayor of Namyangju in Gyeonggi Province, welcomed on November 12 the introduction of a bill requiring the national government to cover at least 80% of costs, including long-term care benefits for medical aid beneficiaries. Namyangju City estimated that if the national funding rate were set at 80%, the city’s share of the costs, based on this year’s budget, would fall from KRW 51 billion to about KRW 10.2 billion, saving approximately KRW 40.8 billion annually.

Namyangju Mayor Choi Hyun-deok handed a policy proposal to Policy Committee Chair Kwon Chil-seung on September 7. Provided by Namyangju City.

The partial amendment to the Long-Term Care Insurance Act for the Elderly, sponsored on November 10 by Assemblyman Seo Youngseok of the Democratic Party of Korea, would require the national government to cover at least 80% of total costs, including long-term care benefits for medical aid beneficiaries.

Mayor Choi said, “The current cost-sharing structure, which concentrates the fiscal burden in areas with many care facilities, needs to be improved.” He added that the amendment reflects a proposal Namyangju City has repeatedly submitted to the National Assembly and the government.

In August, Mayor Choi urged the Ministry of Health and Welfare to transfer responsibility for long-term care benefits for medical aid beneficiaries to the national government and increase national funding. On September 7, he visited the National Assembly and delivered a policy proposal to Kwon Chilseung, policy committee chair of the Democratic Party of Korea. On September 30, at a meeting of heads of basic local governments of the party’s Gyeonggi Provincial Chapter, he called for national funding of at least 80%. In October, he sent letters to Assembly members on the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee, including Assemblyman Seo, explaining the fiscal burden on local governments and calling for a revision of the law.

Namyangju City’s budget for long-term care benefits, including provincial funding, rose by about 51% in two years, from KRW 51.4 billion in 2024 to KRW 61.4 billion in 2025 and KRW 77.6 billion this year. Based on the second supplementary budget for this year, the city’s share of facility benefits costs stands at KRW 47 billion, the highest among Gyeonggi Province’s 31 cities and counties. As of the end of last year, Namyangju had 135 eldercare facilities, accounting for 8% of all such facilities in the province. The city said its share of benefit costs also rises when medical aid beneficiaries from other areas move their residence to Namyangju after entering one of its care facilities.

Nationwide, of the KRW 4.6309 trillion in long-term care costs for medical aid beneficiaries projected for 2027, the national government is expected to cover just KRW 150.6 billion (3.3%), while local governments are expected to bear the remaining 96.7%.

Namyangju Mayor Choi Hyundeok (fourth from left) hands over a request for 2027 national funding from local government heads to the Democratic Party of Korea's Gyeonggi Provincial Chapter on Sept. 30. Photo provided by Namyangju City.

Namyangju City estimates that applying an 80% national funding rate would reduce the combined burden on provincial and city governments from KRW 77.6 billion to about KRW 15.5 billion. Of the estimated KRW 62.1 billion in savings for local governments, about KRW 40.8 billion would be saved by the city.

Mayor Choi Hyundeok said, “I hope this bill will help ease the fiscal burden not only on Namyangju but also on local governments facing the same difficulties.” He added, “We will work together with local governments across the country and actively consult with the government and the National Assembly to secure the swift passage of the amendment and ensure that the funding is reflected in next year’s national budget.”

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