Yoon: "Expanding Non-Face-to-Face Medical Care... Will Do Our Best to Reflect It in Legal Amendments"

Seventh Public Livelihood Forum on the Theme of 'Digital Coexistence'
Yoon: Promoting 'Zero Required Documents' in Government Offices

The door to telemedicine, which had been operated on a limited basis since the COVID-19 pandemic, is now fully opening. Going forward, patients living in emergency medical vulnerable areas or during holidays and nighttime hours such as the Lunar New Year holiday will be able to receive telemedicine services even without prior in-person consultation experience. The government will supplement pilot projects and push for institutionalization of telemedicine through amendments to the Medical Service Act. Additionally, by activating inter-ministerial data linkage and sharing, the government aims to achieve 'zero required documents at government offices' by 2026, actively building a 'one-stop service' that significantly reduces the hassle of citizens having to obtain multiple documents.

On the morning of the 30th, President Yoon Suk-yeol stated at the seventh 'Public Discussion on Livelihood Issues with the People,' held at the Startup Zone of the Bundang 2nd Techno Valley Corporate Support Hub in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, under the theme 'Digital Coexistence, Protection of People's Rights,' that telemedicine had been operated in a limited manner after the pandemic, causing great inconvenience and regret among the public. He pledged to reflect this in legal amendments and actively expand telemedicine.

This discussion was organized to discuss ways to enhance citizens' freedom and rights in digital areas of daily life, such as digital administration, game content, and digital medical services.

In his opening remarks, President Yoon said, "Digital technology is changing our lives, but challenges that need to be addressed are emerging at an equally rapid pace," adding, "The government must become faster and more deeply involved on the ground, focusing on improving service convenience and accessibility to enhance citizens' freedom and welfare."

In particular, President Yoon announced plans to activate telemedicine so that all citizens can access medical services regardless of time and place. Through amendments to the Medical Service Act, the system will be improved to allow telemedicine use even during Lunar New Year holidays, holidays, and nighttime hours without prior in-person consultation experience. To this end, the current pilot projects will be supplemented and expanded to enable working parents and patients living in emergency medical vulnerable areas to use telemedicine.

Instead of patients having to submit medical records and imaging information such as CT scans on paper or CDs when transferring hospitals, the government will expand electronic and rapid sharing methods. The government plans to increase the number of medical institutions linked to the medical information exchange system from 8,600 last year to 9,400 this year to reduce inconvenience for patients and their guardians.

Furthermore, President Yoon stated that in the field of digital administration, walls between ministries will be broken down, and scattered information and data will be gathered to provide citizens with convenient 'one-stop customized administrative services.' This aims to alleviate the inconvenience citizens have faced in having to obtain many documents to receive administrative services. Over the next three years, the government will fully digitize the required documents for about 1,500 administrative services, creating an environment where applications can be made easily without preparing various supporting documents, and will significantly convert unnecessary seal certificates to digital seals.

Regarding the gaming industry, which has established itself as a content industry, President Yoon emphasized the need to protect game users who purchase digital goods such as items on par with general consumers. To resolve unfairness and protect consumers in the gaming industry, following the disclosure of information on 'probability-type items,' the government plans to thoroughly respond to small-scale game fraud and so-called 'eat-and-run games,' where services end prematurely after sales.

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