Kang Do-tae Appointed as New President of National Health Insurance Service

Kang Do-tae, the newly appointed President of the National Health Insurance Service, is speaking at the inauguration ceremony held on the 3rd at the NHIS headquarters in Wonju, Gangwon Province. (Photo by National Health Insurance Service)

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] Kang Do-tae, former Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, has been inaugurated as the 9th President of the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS).

On the 3rd, NHIS announced that it held the inauguration ceremony for the 9th President Kang Do-tae at the NHIS headquarters in Wonju, Gangwon Province. Considering the COVID-19 situation, the ceremony was held with a minimal number of attendees. Employees who could not attend watched the ceremony via video.

President Kang passed the 35th Administrative Examination and entered public service. He served as Director General of the Health Insurance Policy Bureau, Director General of the Health and Medical Policy Office, Director General of the Planning and Coordination Office at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and was the inaugural 2nd Vice Minister. Through these roles, he has been recognized for his expertise and ability to drive health and medical policy. In particular, during the COVID-19 crisis, he served as the 1st Chief Coordinator of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, strengthening the quarantine system and enhancing medical capacity, significantly contributing to the COVID-19 response.

In his inaugural speech, President Kang stated, “We will design and promote the future of health insurance integrated with policy and fieldwork,” emphasizing the need to respond to the impact of low birth rates, aging population, and technological changes of the 4th Industrial Revolution on health insurance, as well as to improve overall health and medical issues revealed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Kang also presented six key priority tasks: ▲Realizing a health insurance system enjoyed by all ? strengthening coverage and implementing the second phase reform of the premium charging system ▲Strengthening NHIS’s role to expand public healthcare and improve service quality ▲Stable and sustainable health insurance financial management ▲Establishing a prevention-centered comprehensive health management system ▲Long-term care insurance to guarantee old-age life and prepare for the future ▲Leading ESG management and organizational culture development as the largest public institution in the health and medical sector. Additionally, he pledged to make this year the first year of NHIS’s leap forward through communication bridging the new and old generations within the organization.

Meanwhile, NHIS responded to criticisms from civic groups opposing President Kang’s reform of the health insurance premium charging system and concerns about commercialization of health and disease information and medical profit orientation, stating that “these claims are not true,” and explained, "Going forward, labor and management will cooperate to dispel past concerns and move together toward the common goals of ‘promoting public health’ and ‘advancing the health insurance system.’”

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