"Expansion of Regional Healthcare and Integrated Care Support"... Health Ministry's Budget Set at 137 Trillion Won for Next Year

Ministry’s Share of Total Government Expenditure Rises from 18.6% to 18.9%
Child and Childcare Budget Up 17.0%, General Social Welfare Up 13.0%
Support Expanded for Local Medical Centers, Aging Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics, and Pediatric Nighttime Services

The Ministry of Health and Welfare's budget for next year has increased by 9.6% (12.004 trillion won) compared to this year. As social welfare spending expands, including the full-scale implementation of integrated care for all citizens, the related budget has seen a significant increase.

The Ministry announced on December 3 that, following approval by the National Assembly on December 2, the total expenditure for the Ministry of Health and Welfare's 2026 budget and fund management plan has been set at 137.4949 trillion won.

This total expenditure is 9.6% higher than this year’s 125.4909 trillion won, but 0.1% lower than the original government proposal of 137.6480 trillion won. The proportion of the Ministry’s budget within the total government expenditure (727.9 trillion won) increased from 18.6% to 18.9%, a rise of 0.3 percentage points.

The sector with the largest increase compared to this year’s budget is child and childcare (6.1164 trillion won), which has been raised by 17.0%. The budget for general social welfare (1.1696 trillion won) also increased by 13.0%.

Specifically, the budget for integrated support for medical, nursing, and care services, which will be implemented nationwide in March next year, was increased by 13.67 billion won compared to the original government proposal. The pilot project for the “Basic Food Security (Private Social Welfare Resource Development)” will expand from 20 to 100 locations, and the main project from 130 to 150 locations, resulting in a 2.4 billion won increase in the related budget.

To expand support for people with disabilities, 3.4 billion won will be allocated for the expansion or renovation of 10 residential facilities for people with disabilities, and the unit price for additional disability activity support wages will be increased by 10%, resulting in a 6.25 billion won increase in the related budget compared to the previous proposal.

To strengthen regional, essential, and public healthcare, an additional 17 billion won will be provided to support the management recovery of local medical centers and Red Cross hospitals. Also, 4.5 billion won has been allocated for the installation and operation of helicopter landing pads at two regional trauma centers. Additionally, 1.3 billion won has been newly allocated for the establishment of a policy support center within the National Medical Center.

Furthermore, 1.8 billion won has been added to support facility and equipment costs for obstetrics and gynecology clinics in childbirth-vulnerable areas that have been operating for more than 10 years, as well as for nighttime and holiday operation costs for pediatric clinics in areas without Dalbit Children’s Hospitals. In addition, 1.32 billion won has been newly included to support the essential pediatric healthcare system as part of building a regional collaborative essential healthcare system.

On the other hand, during the National Assembly’s budget review process, a total of 256 billion won was cut from the government proposal, including 224.9 billion won from the basic pension. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the reduction in the basic pension budget is due to updating key variables such as the proportion of two-person couple households and the proportion of recipients with reduced benefits.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to ensure that the budget approved by the National Assembly can be allocated and executed without delay immediately after the start of the 2026 fiscal year by preparing budget allocation and execution plans.

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