Welfare Minister Cho Kyu-hong: "'Birth Notification System' Must Be Legislated... Strong Will to Increase Medical School Quotas"

by Lee Gwanju

Published 22 Jun.2023 14:12(KST)

Regarding the case in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, where a biological mother killed her child after giving birth without registering the birth, Cho Kyu-hong, Minister of Health and Welfare, expressed his intention to legislate the 'Birth Notification System' and establish a legal basis to track mothers of unregistered children.

Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong is responding to questions from lawmakers at the Health and Welfare Committee plenary session held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 22nd. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Minister Cho appeared at the plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee and responded to a question from Kim Mi-ae, a member of the People Power Party, regarding this case, saying, "The child found in Suwon was discovered through a temporary newborn number assigned during mandatory vaccinations for newborns, but we have no way to track and protect the child," he said.

This Suwon case came to light after the Board of Audit and Inspection identified about 2,000 infants and young children who were not registered at birth from 2015 to last year, based on the temporary newborn numbers issued for national vaccinations after childbirth. Currently, when a child is born at a medical institution, a temporary newborn number is assigned for national vaccinations even if the birth is not registered, allowing the child to receive the first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. Afterwards, the medical institution receives reimbursement from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency for the vaccination costs. However, since the temporary newborn number does not include the mother's information, tracking unregistered children based on this system has not been possible until now.

In this regard, Minister Cho emphasized the need to promptly introduce the medical institution birth notification system and the protected childbirth system (anonymous childbirth system). He requested the National Assembly, saying, "The protected childbirth system is a complementary measure to the medical institution birth notification system. I hope discussions on these two bills proceed quickly and lead to legislation." The birth notification system requires medical institutions to notify local governments of births. However, the medical community opposes it, citing increased administrative burdens. A Ministry of Health and Welfare official stated, "We are continuing to persuade the medical community and negotiating ways to make the notification administratively convenient."

Furthermore, Minister Cho clearly expressed his intention to reflect the increase in medical school quotas in the 2025 admission quotas, stating, "We are pursuing this with strong determination and have some consensus with the medical community." He added, "Based on past failures to increase medical school quotas, we will also consider expanding medical infrastructure, improving working conditions for medical staff, and establishing reasonable compensation plans."