Starting August 20, the oversight of national university hospitals and national university dental hospitals will shift from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The Health Ministry plans to designate national university hospitals as the 'final responsible entities' for regional healthcare, aiming to develop them into key hospitals for national balanced development through significant financial investment and regulatory relaxation.
Transfer After 21 Years: Enhancing Critical and Essential Medical Capabilities
The Health Ministry announced on August 19 that the revised National University Hospital Installation Act and National University Dental Hospital Installation Act will take effect on the 20th, consolidating the oversight of these hospitals under the Health Ministry. This transfer, discussed since the Participatory Government era, marks a culmination of 21 years of efforts.
With this transfer, the Health Ministry aims to comprehensively enhance the four main functions of national university hospitals: clinical services, research, education, and public policy, positioning them as key hospitals for national balanced development.
In the clinical sector, the ministry plans to significantly increase the capacity for critical and essential medical care by securing essential medical personnel and expanding compensation for long-term staff. Specifically, it intends to focus on recruiting over 460 core faculty members in high-demand specialties such as obstetrics, pediatrics, and thoracic surgery over the next four years. This targeted support will consider the medical needs of the '5 regions and 3 specialties' and the strengths of individual hospitals, ensuring that local residents can receive top-tier treatment without traveling to the capital region.
Building Research and Education Networks and Strengthening Public Policy Role
There will also be substantial investments in infrastructure to enhance research capabilities. The ministry plans to connect clinical data across all national university hospitals and the National Cancer Center, aiming to establish a data system comparable to that of large hospitals in the capital region. This will facilitate participation in the development of new drugs and advanced treatment technologies, supporting specialized R&D linked to regional strategic industries such as biotechnology and AI, thereby fostering a local innovation ecosystem.
Furthermore, the educational infrastructure for training future medical professionals will undergo significant improvements. A 'Clinical Training Center' will be established at all national university hospitals to provide advanced procedural training based on simulation practice, and a new 'Regional Physician Support Center' will be created to systematically support all stages from students to specialists.
The role of national university hospitals as a public policy 'control tower' for coordinating local medical services will also be strengthened. The Health Ministry plans to enhance dedicated organizational staffing and elevate the position of national university hospital directors to co-chair the essential medical committee at the city and provincial levels, entrusting them with a central role in addressing local essential medical issues.
Removing Constraints for Growth: Moving to Dissolve Other Public Institution Designations
Institutional support will also be initiated. To flexibly secure excellent medical personnel and maximize hospital operational autonomy, the ministry will proactively pursue the 'dissolution of other public institution designations' in consultation with relevant departments.
To efficiently oversee this initiative, the Health Ministry established the 'National University Hospital Policy Division' on July 21, which will be responsible for developing long-term strategies and comprehensively promoting financial investments and institutional improvements to enhance clinical, research, education, and public policy functions.
Lee Hyung-hoon, the Second Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, emphasized, 'This transfer is not merely a change in the managing department of national university hospitals; it marks a new starting point for the Health Ministry, a specialized health and medical department, to properly develop national university hospitals as key institutions for the 5 regions and 3 specialties.' The government also pledged to responsibly support national university hospitals in their role as the final care providers for critical and essential medical services, nurturing excellent medical professionals and leading future medical technologies.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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