Presidential Medical Reform Special Committee to Launch as Early as Next Week... First Meeting Also Scheduled

Participation of Professional Organizations such as Doctors, Pharmacists, and Nurses

The Presidential Commission on Medical Reform, directly under the President, which discusses medical reform tasks, is set to hold its inauguration ceremony and first meeting as early as next week.

A senior official from the Presidential Office explained in a phone call with Asia Economy on the 17th, "The special commission is being formed, and the first meeting is scheduled to be held as early as next week."

The commission members will consist of personnel from ministries responsible for reform tasks such as the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Justice, as well as representatives from medical professional organizations including doctors, Korean medicine doctors, pharmacists, nurses, and patient groups.

The chairperson of the commission is expected to be a health-related expert who is not a medical doctor. The official explained, "Since various professionals from different fields will participate and discuss in this commission, it is difficult to assign the chairperson to a specific profession." This is intended to eliminate any possibility of disputes over fairness.

According to this official, officials from the Presidential Office will also not attend the first meeting, and ministers of the relevant ministries will participate instead.

On the 7th, medical staff were busy moving around at a university hospital in Seoul, where a large hospital began downsizing operations by reducing the number of beds and personnel. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The participation of the Korea Medical Association and the Korean Intern Resident Association, which have strongly opposed the increase in medical school admissions, has not been decided. It is also reported that the Korea Medical Association has not separately recommended any members.

However, since other medical organizations have already agreed to participate in the commission, the government’s stance is that the commission will launch regardless of whether these two organizations participate.

The commission is expected to discuss various medical reform tasks, including the essential medical care policy package announced by the government. There is also a possibility of negotiations regarding the readjustment of the scale of medical school admissions.