Human Rights Commission "Guarantee Health Rights of Homeless People During COVID-19"... Recommends Improvements to Ministry of Health and Welfare

National Human Rights Commission of Korea building. Photo by Human Rights Commission

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The National Human Rights Commission of Korea announced on the 9th that it has recommended the Minister of Health and Welfare to abolish the designated medical facility system for homeless people and to supplement guidelines related to medical benefit applications. The purpose is to guarantee the health rights of homeless people who have become more vulnerable due to COVID-19.

The Human Rights Commission stated, "Most public hospitals designated as medical facilities for the homeless have been functioning as dedicated infectious disease hospitals during the COVID-19 situation, limiting the use of medical services by homeless people," and added, "We recommend expanding medical facilities for the homeless until related revisions are made." Furthermore, they said, "Homeless people in areas without temporary shelters or self-support facilities find it difficult to even apply for medical benefits despite meeting the selection criteria, making them prone to exclusion from the medical benefit system," emphasizing the need for supplementation through measures such as 'guidance on welfare projects for the homeless, etc.'

The medical benefit system is a public assistance program where the state provides medical services to those who lack the ability to maintain their livelihood or have lost economic capacity. However, the current system requires homeless people residing in temporary shelters or self-support facilities to use designated medical facilities to receive medical benefits, leading to criticism that universal medical facility provision is insufficient.

According to the Human Rights Commission, as of April last year, there were 286 designated medical facilities for the homeless nationwide, concentrated in the metropolitan area. The medical departments were also found to be limited. Looking at the status of temporary shelters and self-support facilities for the homeless, among the 17 metropolitan cities and provinces, 13 local governments had no temporary shelters for the homeless, and 4 had no self-support facilities for the homeless. It was confirmed that 4 local governments had neither.

The Human Rights Commission stated, "The right to health is a fundamental right necessary for everyone to live a dignified life," and added, "Through this recommendation, we hope that more meticulous policy measures will be prepared to ensure that the health rights of homeless people are not threatened even during the COVID-19 situation."

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