Expansion of Dedicated Emergency and Disaster Psychological Support Personnel... Creation of 60,000 Public Senior Jobs

Ministry of Health and Welfare's 109 Trillion Won Budget Plan Confirmed for Next Year

Emergency Response Strengthened Following Itaewon Disaster
Expanded CPR Training and DMAT Support

Increased Salaries and Operational Support for Childcare Staff
New Funeral Facilities Including Bongandang to Be Established

Continued Support for Public Night and Late-Night Pharmacies
Expansion of Dedicated Beds for High-Risk Mothers and Newborn Treatment

In the early morning of the 24th, the 2023 budget bill was passed in the plenary session of the National Assembly.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The budget for disaster and emergency response has been strengthened, and funding for elderly support, including the expansion of public-type jobs, has been increased. Budgets for disability support and infant care fees have also been raised.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that the next year's budget plan containing these details was approved at the National Assembly plenary session on the 24th. The total expenditure scale of the budget and fund operation plan is 109.183 trillion KRW, which is 12% higher than this year's main budget and 19.11 billion KRW more than the government proposal submitted to the National Assembly in September.

First, in response to the Itaewon tragedy, the budget for disaster and emergency response was increased by 14.2 billion KRW. Emergency medical support will be expanded by increasing personnel for the Central Emergency Medical Situation Team, expanding emergency treatment education such as CPR for the general public, and strengthening training and insurance support for Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMAT). Additionally, trauma centers and mental health welfare centers will expand dedicated personnel for psychological support, which became more important after the tragedy, and personnel expenses will be supported for the operation of specialized medical systems at regional cerebrovascular centers to respond to urgent situations.

The area with the largest budget increase is the response to low birthrate and aging. The budget for population, children, and elderly sectors increased by 140.4 billion KRW, with 154 billion KRW allocated for expanding 61,000 public-type jobs for the elderly, an increase of 97.8 billion KRW. Although the budget for infant care fees and support for comprehensive childcare centers decreased, the budget for childcare staff salaries and operational support increased by 62.3 billion KRW. Additionally, 52 billion KRW will be invested in creating five columbarium sites, one memorial park, and one natural burial ground.

The budget for health and medical fields increased by 30.9 billion KRW. A new budget of 4.7 billion KRW was allocated to support the installation of ventilation facilities to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in nursing institutions, and the construction of one specialized nursing hospital providing 24-hour professional nursing medical services for patients with severe rare diseases is being pursued. Support for 76 public night and late-night pharmacies will continue, and five neonatal intensive care beds to support high-risk mothers and newborns will also be expanded.

The social welfare and disability sectors will see an increase of 7.9 billion KRW. The emergency relief fund support limit for discovering welfare-vulnerable groups will be raised from 500,000 KRW to 600,000 KRW, and the budget for emergency care projects responding to care gaps in homes and facilities caused by COVID-19 and other factors will increase by 700 million KRW. Support hours for after-school activities for people with developmental disabilities will be expanded from 44 hours to 66 hours per month, and one additional daytime care facility and one vocational rehabilitation facility will be added.

The bio and health sector budget increased by 5.3 billion KRW. Five hundred million KRW was reflected for design costs to promote the new construction of the 'Bio-pharmaceutical Production Specialist Training Center' within the Osong Advanced Medical Complex, and a new 'ICT Convergence Children's Rehabilitation Equipment Support Center' will be established to strengthen the competitiveness of the medical device industry. Furthermore, new research and development (R&D) will be supported, including the development of medical products based on micro medical robots and the development of mental health management technology based on the metaverse at the National Mental Health Center.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare stated, "We plan to thoroughly prepare budget allocation and execution plans so that the budget approved by the National Assembly can be executed promptly and without any setbacks immediately after the start of the 2023 fiscal year.

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