Chief Secretary Yoo Young-min Chairs First Meeting of Blue House Bed Securing TF (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] On the afternoon of the 24th, the Blue House held the first meeting of the Bed Expansion Task Force (TF) chaired by Presidential Chief of Staff Yoo Young-min to review the status of bed expansion and discuss related tasks.

Chief of Staff Yoo presided over the TF meeting at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Samcheong-dong and stated, "The government and the Blue House currently consider resolving the bed shortage issue an absolutely critical task."

President Moon Jae-in issued a special directive on bed expansion on the 20th, instructing the Blue House to form a ministry-private sector participation TF to directly oversee and manage the bed shortage issue. Accordingly, the Blue House formed a TF led by Chief of Staff Yoo, who held the first meeting.

Yoo said, "On Monday this week, the President issued a special directive on bed expansion, and on Wednesday, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced an emergency plan for bed expansion," emphasizing, "However, what is important is flawless implementation and speed."

He added, "This TF will meticulously ensure that the announced bed expansion plan is implemented without any setbacks and even exceeded. To expand more beds faster, this TF will discuss and quickly decide and execute any necessary matters or methods without discrimination."

Yoo also said, "Problems arising during the bed expansion process, as well as disagreements and issues among ministries, will be discussed and solutions prepared within this TF," urging, "The ministries and agencies participating in the TF should not only implement decisions but also actively identify and proactively resolve tasks."

He continued, "We must learn from the recent bed shortage issues and thoroughly prepare for uncertain situations such as the spread of Omicron by securing sufficient beds in advance, even if it means keeping some beds vacant. I ask each ministry and agency to participate in the TF with a heavy sense of responsibility, recognizing that the degree and possibility of returning to normal life depend on our efforts."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Attending the meeting were Policy Chief Lee Ho-seung, Senior Secretary for Social Affairs Lee Tae-han, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs Yoo Eun-hye, Minister of the Interior and Safety Jeon Hae-cheol, Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol, Deputy Minister of National Defense Park Jae-min, and Second Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance Ahn Do-gul. From the private sector, Seoul National University Hospital Director Kim Yeon-su and National Medical Center Director Jeong Ki-hyun participated. The attendees engaged in in-depth discussions on ▲Implementation plans for the emergency bed expansion plan, ▲Implementation plans for expanding severe beds at national university hospitals, and ▲Support plans for military medical personnel, as well as a discussion on recommendations related to bed expansion at Seoul National University Hospital and national university hospitals.

Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol reported a weekly breakdown of the bed expansion targets, including 1,578 severe and semi-severe beds and 5,366 moderate beds planned to be expanded by January. It was agreed that the practical TF chaired by the Minister of Health and Welfare will monitor progress daily and report weekly to the TF.

National university hospitals also decided to concentrate medical capacity on treating severe COVID-19 patients, planning to increase severe beds from 485 to 834 by mid-January next year, securing an additional 349 beds in total.

Chief of Staff Yoo encouraged, "If there are government measures that have not worked on the ground, no matter how minor, let’s discuss them in the TF to ensure execution capability. The Minister of Health and Welfare will create a progress chart for each task related to bed expansion in the practical TF and directly check progress. If ministries face practical difficulties, they should immediately report to the TF for quick decisions."

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