Starting on the 20th, the supervisory ministry for national university hospitals and national university dental hospitals will officially change from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. This measure follows the promulgation of the relevant law on February 19, and its purpose is to establish an institutional foundation that allows national university hospitals to fulfill their central role in regional, essential, and public healthcare while maintaining their function as medical school teaching hospitals.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Education announced on the 11th that the partial amendment bills to the 'Enforcement Decree of the National University Hospital Establishment Act' and the 'Enforcement Decree of the National University Dental Hospital Establishment Act' were passed at the Cabinet meeting.

Administrative Procedures Unified Under the Ministry of Health and Welfare

With this amendment to the enforcement decree, the authority responsible for major tasks related to the operation of national university hospitals will also shift to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Various documents, including business plans submitted upon the recommendation of a hospital president, requests for contributions and subsidies, payment applications, and project plans, will now be submitted to the Minister of Health and Welfare instead of the Minister of Education.

In addition, a basis has been established to expand the organizational autonomy of national university hospitals. Previously, only sub-organizations specified in the statutes could be established and operated, but in the future, hospitals will be able to set up separate sub-organizations through their articles of incorporation if deemed necessary. This is to enable hospitals to respond flexibly in a situation where the medical environment, including artificial intelligence (AI), is rapidly changing.

Fostering Hospitals as Key Hubs for a Regionally Self-Sufficient Healthcare System

The core reason the government is transferring the supervisory ministry of national university hospitals to the Ministry of Health and Welfare is to strengthen the linkage between regional, essential, and public healthcare policies and national university hospitals. Until now, national university hospitals have been responsible for severe and essential medical care in their regions, but due to their nature as educational institutions, they have been managed by the Ministry of Education.

Going forward, the Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to directly connect national university hospitals with healthcare policies to foster them as key hubs for regional healthcare. In particular, the role of national university hospitals is expected to become even more important in the process of building a 'regionally self-sufficient healthcare system' that allows patients to complete their treatment within their local communities.

However, their role and autonomy as teaching hospitals, including the education of medical students and the training of medical professionals, will still be guaranteed. The government intends to support national university hospitals so that they can fulfill their inherent functions as medical school teaching hospitals while simultaneously establishing themselves as central institutions for regional, essential, and public healthcare.

The amended enforcement decree will take effect on the 20th alongside the relevant law, and the government plans to complete the procedure for changing the supervisory ministry of national university hospitals and national university dental hospitals in line with the effective date.