Assemblyman Yoon Young-deok: "Public Medical Institution Boards Fail to Fulfill Their Role"

Extremely Low Attendance Rate of Ex Officio Directors Affiliated with Government Ministries

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] It has been confirmed that the boards of directors of national university hospitals are being operated inefficiently due to the low attendance rates of some ex officio directors, failing to fulfill their roles as boards of public medical institutions.

According to the data on the 'Attendance Status of Boards of Directors of National University Hospitals Nationwide' submitted by Representative Yoon Young-deok (Democratic Party of Korea, Gwangju Dong-gu Nam-gu Gap) from the Ministry of Education and each national university hospital on the 13th, the average attendance rates of ex officio directors belonging to the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Strategy and Finance, and Ministry of Health and Welfare from 2017 to the first half of this year were 50.1%, 40.9%, and 13.6%, respectively, showing low attendance.

In particular, at Gangwon National University Hospital, Gyeongsang National University Hospital, and Chungnam National University Hospital, the proportion of board meetings where opinions are submitted in writing without direct attendance accounts for more than 60% of all board meetings.

There are concerns about whether the board of directors, which is responsible for the overall operation of national university hospitals, including business plans, budget approval, and organizational matters, can properly perform its role.

National university hospitals (including dental hospitals) have ex officio directors according to Article 10 of the 'National University Hospital Establishment Act,' with one person each appointed by the Minister of Strategy and Finance, the Minister of Education, and the Minister of Health and Welfare from among general service officials belonging to grade 3 public officials or senior executive service officials of the respective ministries.

In the case of Seoul National University Hospital, according to the Seoul National University Hospital (including dental hospital) Establishment Act, the Vice Ministers of Strategy and Finance, Education, and Health and Welfare participate as ex officio directors.

Representative Yoon said, "If ex officio directors composed of government officials have extremely low attendance rates and only participate through written or proxy attendance, failing to fulfill their roles as board members and merely acting as rubber stamps for hospital decisions, then the board is not fulfilling its role as a public medical institution board." He added, "To provide proper public medical services to the people and secure the status of national university hospitals, it is urgently necessary to amend related laws to ensure a proper board composition."

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