Human Rights Commission: "Military Should Expand Use of Civilian Hospitals for Service Members"

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) has pointed out that the Ministry of National Defense should prepare measures to expand the use of civilian hospitals for military personnel.

On the 8th, the NHRCK announced that it recommended improvements to the system guaranteeing medical access rights for soldiers to Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop on the 3rd.

According to the NHRCK, military personnel are not receiving adequate medical services. A 2020 survey conducted by the NHRCK on the military medical system to ensure soldiers' health rights found that 24.8% of respondents had experienced unmet medical needs. The main reasons for not receiving medical services were lack of time due to training and duty, unit atmosphere, and long waiting times. Additionally, satisfaction with military medical services was only 23%, about half of the dissatisfaction rate (46.1%). This was revealed to be due to insufficient human and material resources in military medical institutions.

The NHRCK explained, "The quality of medical services provided to soldiers fulfilling their national defense duties should be equal to or higher than universal medical services. The current military medical system and services fall short of this standard."

First, it stated that the medical system should be reorganized to expand the use of civilian hospitals alongside military medical institutions, and mid- to long-term plans should be established. Furthermore, it pointed out the need to expand legal provisions guaranteeing soldiers' medical choice rights and to enact regulations requiring commanders to, in principle, approve soldiers' annual leave, petition leave for medical purposes, and requests for outings or overnight stays.

It also recommended easing regulations related to hospitalization periods and leave. The NHRCK explained that the hospitalization period for soldiers in civilian hospitals should be extended from the current 10 days to up to 30 days, and the conditions for using petition leave for medical purposes should be relaxed. Additionally, it emphasized the necessity of allowing leave to be used in one-hour increments, adjusting the consultation hours of military medical institutions, and promoting nighttime medical services.

The NHRCK stated, "Considering the differences in human and material resources between civilian hospitals and military medical institutions, it is an urgent task to allow soldiers to freely use medical institutions, especially civilian hospitals, without hesitation, to extend outpatient consultation hours at military medical institutions by about 2 to 3 hours, and to activate nighttime medical services." It added, "We recommended the Defense Minister to improve the system to guarantee soldiers' medical access rights."