Analysis of the Regional Healthcare Support Policies and Programs: Current Status and Policy Recommendations

 

Published on July 8, 2026
Published by Social Administrative Program Evaluation Division



 

   Korea’s continued concentration of development in the Seoul metropolitan area has led not only to the clustering of the population, economic activity, and industry in the capital region, but also to widening disparities in health outcomes and access to healthcare between the capital region and the rest of the country. To strengthen regional healthcare, the government has pursued a range of plans and initiatives alongside its national policy agenda, with budgets for major fiscal programs related to regional healthcare generally trending upward. Nevertheless, persistent gaps in regional healthcare remain a concern, driven in part by shortages of medical personnel and inadequate or aging healthcare infrastructure outside the capital region.
   Against this backdrop, this report provides an in-depth analysis and evaluation of the development of key laws and institutional frameworks for regional healthcare, the status of major related fiscal programs, and their challenges and outcomes. It then examines key issues and potential improvements, with a particular focus on major plans and their outcomes, as well as policies and programs supporting regional medical institutions and healthcare personnel.
   First, with respect to major regional healthcare plans, related statutory plans should be established without delay to ensure the legal coherence of the Master Plan for Essential Medical Services, which is to be formulated under the Special Act on Support for Strengthening Essential Medical Services and Reducing Regional Healthcare Disparities, scheduled to take effect in March 2027. Under the Master Plan for Essential Medical Services, a Health and Medical Care Development Plan and Master Plans for Providing Assistance with Health and Medical Personnel have yet to be formulated or implemented after the enactment of the laws providing their respective legal bases.
   Second, with respect to regional medical institutions, it is necessary to carefully design and implement measures to improve access to healthcare across regions, including the prompt opening of public medical institutions and consideration of measures to encourage greater participation by private hospitals. In this regard, the government has established 70 regional medical service zones and designated regional medical institutions to serve them. However, 15 of these zones still lack a designated institution. Further consideration is also needed on expanding support for medically underserved areas, and areas underserved in maternity care, strengthening remote clinical collaboration, and improving regional capacity to provide comprehensive cancer care.
   Third, with respect to the regional healthcare workforce, although budgets for fiscal programs supporting national university hospitals have increased, these hospitals continue to operate at a deficit, while resident positions outside the capital region continue to show low fill rates. Therefore, detailed implementation frameworks for strengthening the functions of national university hospitals need to be carefully designed and managed. In addition, while bills have been introduced in response to the sharp decline in new entrants to the public health doctor program, measures to improve the system need to be carefully designed in light of differing views among the relevant ministries.