The positions of major political party presidential candidates regarding the consolidation of the Ministry of Health and Welfare were divided. The consolidation of the Ministry of Health and Welfare is related to issues such as fostering the health and medical industry, government support systems for nursing and caregiving, and solutions for medical crises.
The Korea Science Journalists Association and the non-governmental organization (NGO) in the field of science and technology, 'National Union for the Realization of Correct Science and Technology,' held a forum on 'Health care pledges of presidential candidates for the 21st National Assembly elections' at the Korea Science and Technology Center in Gangnam, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 28th.
The forum was attended by Kang Cheong-hee, Chairperson of the Democratic Party of Korea's Health and Medical Special Committee, Kim Sun-jeong, Director General of the People Power Party's Policy Headquarters Healthy Welfare Headquarters, and Lee Jun-young, a member of the Reform Party.
The Reform Party proposed a pledge to separate health from the Ministry of Health and Welfare and establish it as an independent Ministry of Health. Lee Jun-young stated, 'The Reform Party believes that the health sector should advance in connection with the bio industry, where Korea can lead the world,' and added, 'To industrialize clinical, basic, digital healthcare, and telemedicine, we must separate health from welfare.'
The People Power Party also included the establishment of a Ministry of Future Health Care in its pledge. This plan involves separating health from the Ministry of Health and Welfare and combining the Korea Food and Drug Administration and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency into the new ministry. Director General Kim Sun-jeong explained, 'We proposed the establishment of a Ministry of Future Health Care to strengthen expertise in the health care field and to pursue sustainable and reasonable medical reform to protect the public.'
The Democratic Party of Korea did not present a separate pledge regarding the consolidation of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Chairperson Kang Cheong-hee noted, 'The perception that the expertise of the Ministry of Health and Welfare is lacking seems to be shared in the medical community,' adding, 'However, it might not be too late to discuss consolidation plans once the government is launched.' The Lee Jae-myung camp instead proposed to establish a Public Center for Medical Reform focused on the people.
There were also differing opinions among the three parties regarding solutions to financial issues in health insurance and the burden of caregiving. Chairperson Kang Cheong-hee stated, 'We will eradicate illegal private medical centers that lead to surrogate surgeries, excessive care, and unfair billing that worsen health insurance finances,' and highlighted plans to expand integrated services for nursing and caregiving, as well as apply health insurance for caregiving costs for inpatients in nursing hospitals to alleviate the caregiving burden.
Director General Kim Sun-jeong of the People Power Party said, 'We will unify the insurance premiums for workplace and local subscribers and reform the health tax for the three major health risk factors for the public: smoking, drinking, and sugary drinks,' adding, 'We will also provide incentives for those who utilize medical services less and will work on a reform of health insurance benefits that reduces welfare benefits perceived as unnecessary.'
Reform Party member Lee Jun-young stated, 'If outpatient visits exceed 120 times a year, we will impose a 90% cost-sharing rate to suppress excessive medical utilization,' and 'We will strengthen the criteria for recognizing dependents of foreign health insurance subscribers from 6 months to 2 years to improve the financial health and sustainability of health insurance.'
Solutions to foster the bio industry were also presented. Chairperson Kang Cheong-hee stated, 'We will improve the support system for innovative pharmaceutical companies and strengthen support for AI-based digital healthcare and medical device industries.' Reform Party member Lee Jun-young stated, 'We will promote the standardization of medical data and encourage industry-academia cooperation to cultivate digital healthcare as an industry.'
Director General Kim Sun-jeong of the People Power Party stated, 'We will invest a total of 70 trillion won over the next five years, including 20 trillion won in health care R&D budget and 50 trillion won in the bio, pharmaceutical, nursing, and caregiving industries,' and added, 'We will expand tax credits for R&D investment companies and systematize cooperation between hospitals and corporations.'