"Focus on Supporting Vulnerable Groups and Filling Medical Gaps" ... Health Ministry Finalizes Supplementary Budget of 346.1 Billion Won

An Additional 19.8 Billion Won Added to Government Plan

Funds Allocated for Public Welfare Amid Middle East War Impact

"Just Dream" Food Corners Expanded to 300 Nationwide

Enhanced Emergency Welfare and Care Services

To protect vulnerable groups from the burden of high oil prices and inflation caused by the prolonged Middle East war, the Ministry of Health and Welfare will allocate a supplementary budget totaling 340 billion won.

On April 11, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that the "2026 First Supplementary Budget" was finalized at 346.1 billion won following a Cabinet meeting. This amount is 19.8 billion won higher than the government's original proposal of 326.3 billion won. As a result, the ministry's total expenditure for this year increased from 137.4949 trillion won to 137.8410 trillion won.

The core of this supplementary budget is to stabilize the livelihoods of low-income groups who are facing immediate crises. First, the number of "Just Dream" (basic food security corners), where anyone can take food in urgent situations, will be doubled from the current 150 locations to 300. The plan is to install at least one in every city, county, and district nationwide within the year to eliminate welfare blind spots.

Support for households facing sudden crises will be expanded by approximately 16,000 additional cases, and emergency care will be provided to about 2,400 people who need urgent and temporary care. At the same time, daily care for around 3,200 young and middle-aged adults will be significantly strengthened. The ministry has also secured additional funding to increase medical safety net support for vulnerable groups by approximately 51,000 more beneficiaries.

The supplementary budget also includes funding for youth, who are increasingly facing social isolation issues. The "Youth Future Center," which closely manages reclusive youth and young family caregivers, will be established in all 17 metropolitan and provincial regions nationwide within the year. In addition, through the "Youth Work Experience Support" program, approximately 480 prospective welfare workers will be trained by placing young people in social welfare institutions suffering from manpower shortages to gain practical experience.

To address delays in the adoption system, which has been under controversy since transitioning to the public adoption system, the ministry will support the recruitment of adoption-dedicated staff at the National Center for the Rights of the Child and expand activity service support to reduce the burden on guardians and promote the independence of those with developmental disabilities.

An emergency budget has also been allocated to fill medical care gaps in rural and fishing communities. In response to a decrease in public health doctors, the government will hire substitute nursing staff at public health centers and increase the number of retired senior doctors (180) and contract-based essential regional doctors (268) to maintain specialized medical services in vulnerable areas.

The ministry stated, "We will do our utmost to quickly execute this supplementary budget to alleviate the burdens faced by citizens due to high oil prices and inflation resulting from the prolonged Middle East war."

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