[Reporter’s Notebook] The True Role of a 'Physician-Turned' Minister of Health and Welfare

With the appointment of Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong as the first head of the Ministry of Health and Welfare under the Lee Jae-myung administration, there has been a chorus of welcoming voices both within and outside the medical community, including from physicians' organizations. This is because Minister Jeong, as an administrative official with a background as a physician, is expected to be the right person to resolve the intensified conflicts between the government and the medical community that escalated under the previous Yoon Suk-yeol administration, and to restore the collapsed healthcare system. Resident doctors who had previously resigned and were considering returning to training have been the first to propose dialogue aimed at normalizing the medical situation. The current administration's strategy to resolve the medical crisis, which has persisted for a year and a half, through a minister from the medical field, appears to be off to a smooth start as intended. Soon, the Medical Workforce Supply and Demand Estimation Committee, which will discuss the medical school admission quota for the year after next, will begin its work, and plans to foster personnel to strengthen regional, essential, and public healthcare are also expected to be discussed.

However, it is difficult to expect that the already damaged healthcare system will be normalized overnight simply because a new minister has taken office. As Minister Jeong herself has stated, persuading public opinion that special privileges should not be granted only to medical students or residents, and finding efficient and rational solutions that can quickly normalize the system in line with public expectations, do not appear to be simple tasks.

More importantly, the Ministry of Health and Welfare is not a department that deals only with healthcare. In terms of budget and workforce, welfare areas such as health insurance finances, care services, national and basic pensions, the identification and support of households in crisis, and disability policy account for a much larger proportion. Amid numerous pending issues, it is also important to strengthen the industrial foundation for Korea to become a leading nation in health and welfare in the future, such as improving pharmaceutical regulations and expanding investment in K-bio and vaccine funds. Consideration must also be given to how to maintain governance structures like the National Bio Committee, which was established under the previous administration.

In particular, at a time when it is difficult to gauge the extent of the impact that the tariff war initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump may have on Korea's pharmaceutical and bio industries, the importance of a response strategy led by the relevant ministry is higher than ever.

At the confirmation hearing on July 18, Minister Jeong stated, "I keenly felt that there is so much work for the Ministry of Health and Welfare to do to ensure that those in need are warmly protected and that all citizens can live healthy and happy lives."

Although the task of quickly addressing the policy failures of the previous administration has been assigned, the conflict between the government and the medical community is only one part of health policy. The role of the Minister of Health and Welfare should not be limited to that of a conflict mediator or arbitrator. It is hoped that Minister Jeong will demonstrate broad insight by reorganizing the entire medical field to achieve true healthcare reform, devising welfare policies that improve people's lives, and precisely designing pharmaceutical and bio policies that will become a pillar of the national economy.