'Medical Innovation Committee' Launched to Strengthen Regional and Essential Healthcare

Directly under the Prime Minister...
Key Agendas Include Preparing for a Super-Aged Society
Promoting Medical Innovation Through a Fair and Transparent Public Deliberation Structure

The "Medical Innovation Committee," a new body established to overcome the crisis in regional and essential healthcare and to enhance the public nature and sustainability of the medical system, has been launched.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on December 11 at the Government Complex Seoul that it held the first meeting of the Medical Innovation Committee, where it discussed the committee's composition and operational plan, measures to strengthen public participation including a citizen panel, and directions for reviewing medical innovation agendas.

The committee consists of a total of 30 members: one chairperson and one vice-chairperson appointed by the Prime Minister, 27 civilian members recommended from various sectors, and government officials including the Ministers of Economy and Finance, Interior and Safety, and Health and Welfare. In addition to healthcare providers, the committee includes patients, consumers, civil society, regional representatives, youth, labor unions, and employer organizations, thereby enhancing the diversity and representativeness of its composition.

Jung Ki-hyun, a pediatrician who has long operated a pediatric and maternity hospital in Suncheon, Jeollanam-do, and who contributed to strengthening public healthcare and responding to COVID-19 as the director of the National Medical Center, has been appointed as the chairperson. Yeo Joon-sung, former Secretary for Social Policy at the Presidential Office, has been appointed as the vice-chairperson.

As an advisory body directly under the Prime Minister, the committee will be responsible for: ▲ developing medical innovation strategies as solutions to structural problems in the healthcare system, ▲ reviewing and advising on key policies related to medical innovation, and ▲ facilitating social discussions and proposing alternatives for contentious issues.

The committee will meet monthly and, if in-depth review is required, will form and operate expert committees or subcommittees. To ensure transparent operations, the committee will make its discussions and outcomes public and will gather opinions from the medical field and the public through forums, public hearings, and site visits.

To significantly expand public participation, the committee will also operate a citizen panel for medical innovation and an online platform. The citizen panel will select agendas for the committee, engage in thorough discussions on topics requiring public debate, and prepare recommendations. The panel will consist of 100 to 300 members, selected based on a preliminary survey of participation intent. To ensure fairness and objectivity in the deliberative process, a citizen panel management committee composed of experts in public deliberation will oversee the operation of the panel and the entire process transparently and fairly. The online platform (tentatively named "Healthcare for All Citizens") will serve as a space for all citizens to participate and communicate, providing information on the committee's activities and accepting policy suggestions related to its agendas.

The meeting also discussed the direction for reviewing future medical innovation agendas. The committee decided to focus its discussions on strengthening regional, essential, and public healthcare, as well as meeting the medical needs and ensuring sustainability in a super-aged society. Unlike previous approaches where the government unilaterally selected discussion topics, the committee will determine agendas and their order through democratic procedures and consensus, even if it takes more time, by conducting workshops with civilian members and deliberations with the citizen panel.

By March next year, the committee plans to finalize its discussion agendas and plans based on workshops with all civilian members and deliberations with the citizen panel, and to complete the formation of expert committees in relevant fields as needed. In the first half of the year, the committee will focus on innovation agendas related to strengthening regional, essential, and public healthcare systems, while in the second half, it will address agendas for responding to a super-aged society, such as improving financial sustainability.

Jung Ki-hyun, Chairperson of the Medical Innovation Committee, emphasized, "Now is the time to move beyond conflict and wounds and transition to a new, sustainable, citizen-centered healthcare system. The committee's mission is to correct the distortions and contradictions that have long been left unaddressed in the healthcare system and to propose a new model of medical care that meets the demands of the times, the realities of each region, and the needs of the people. We will do our utmost to develop genuine medical innovation measures that earn public trust and instill pride in the medical community through thorough social discussion."

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