Ruling Party and Government Mandate Modernization of Local Medical Centers and Regional Talent Selection in Medical and Pharmaceutical Schools at Local Universities

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] On the 19th, the Democratic Party of Korea and the government held a party-government consultation and decided to promote the modernization of local medical centers and the mandatory selection of local talents in the medical and pharmaceutical fields of local universities.

The goal is to drastically improve healthcare, care services, education, and living conditions. They plan to modernize the facilities and equipment of 41 regional public hospitals including local medical centers, and expand financial support for emergency medical institutions in 78 counties vulnerable to emergency medical services. A specialized health checkup for female farmers and fishermen will also be introduced next year.

By 2024, 850 national and public daycare centers and 70 joint childcare centers will be expanded, and a ‘rural community care model’ will be introduced this year for elderly welfare services, increasing to 100 centers by 2024.

In the education sector, support for school buses and school taxi fares will be expanded to 302.7 billion KRW by 2024, and the selection of local talents in the medical and pharmaceutical departments of local universities will be made mandatory. The number of departments not complying with the recommended local talent selection ratio increased from 8 in 2018 to 13 last year, leading to the decision to make it compulsory.

To improve transportation conditions, support for rural transportation models such as the ‘100-won taxi’ and ‘Happy Bus’ will be expanded. The ‘Fishing Village New Deal 300’ project, covering 300 locations by 2022, will be further promoted to expand region-specific development integrating fishing villages and ports. Public rental housing will be supplied to 50 locations by 2024 targeting returnees to farming and fishing villages and the elderly.

In the economic activity sector, new industries such as smart farms and smart aquaculture farms will be fostered, and the local food distribution share, which was 6% last year, will be increased to 15% by 2022 as part of establishing a virtuous cycle system for local food.

The party and government will reflect these consultation contents in the government’s ongoing preparation of the ‘4th Five-Year Basic Plan for Improving the Quality of Life of Farmers and Fishermen and Developing Rural Areas (2020?2024).’

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.