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South Korea: South Korea Health Profile 2012

2012/04/04

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South Korea Health Profile 2012

Ministry of Health's mission, vision and objectives

The mission of the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs is to contribute to the quality of life of the public and to national development by protecting the public from social risks, promoting social integration, investing in human resources, and offering social services. The Ministry envisions healthy and happy lives for all citizens. To carry out its mission and realize its vision, the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs has set the following objectives:

(1) Expand the social safety net by:

  • reforming the National Pension;
  • stabilizing the National Health Insurance fund;
  • improving the benefit system of the National Basic Livelihood Security; and
  • enhancing the quality of life for people with disabilities.

(2) Pursue forward-looking family policies by:

  • strengthening comprehensive family policies;
  • restructuring child care policies;
  • fostering healthy children and youths; and
  • ntroducing long-term care insurance for the elderly.

(3) Protect public health and safety by:

  • establishing a public health safety net;
  • implementing preventive health care; and
  • strengthening food-safety management.

(4) Strengthen economic growth hand in hand with health and welfare by:

  • fostering the health care industry;
  • creating the market for welfare services;
  • pursuing welfare through work ; and
  •  operating the National Pension Fund strategically.

With these strategies, the mission of the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs will pursue proactive welfare by creating jobs for those capable of work, and extending a helping hand to those in need of support.
Organization of health services and delivery systems

Public health in the Republic of Korea has improved dramatically, especially in terms of life expectancy and infant mortality. The strengthened health care system, as well as increased income and improved living conditions have played a significant role.

As regards health care resources, the number of doctors increased from 22 183 in 1975 to 112 486 in 2008 (including 17 473 traditional medicine doctors). The number of hospital-level institutions (hospitals and traditional hospitals with 30 or more beds, as well as dental hospitals) rose from 178 in 1975 to 2240 in 2007.

Total health expenditure amounted to 6.9% of GDP in 2007. Although this is a relatively low rate compared with other developed countries, the Government is able to offer comparatively good quality health care services. However, health expenditure is growing continuously because of increased use of health care services driven by greater public desire for healthy lives and implementation of the National Health Insurance scheme. To respond effectively to the fast-changing health care environment, it is necessary to comprehensively examine the existing health care system and set a new policy direction to advance it.


Health policy, planning and regulatory framework
The Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs focuses on the following areas in its health policy, planning and regulatory framework:
  • establishing a lifetime health maintenance system;
  • establishing an efficient health care delivery system;
  • enhancing National Health Insurance coverage and strengthening the role of the Government in health care; and
  • fostering the health care industry.

Health care financing

Since 1 July 1989, every citizen of the Republic of Korea has received health care benefits through either National Health Insurance (NHI) or the Medical Aid programme. As of the end of 2008, 96.3% of the total population or 48.2 million people were covered by the NHI, while the rest, 1.8 million people, including beneficiaries of the National Basic Livelihood Security System and patriots and veterans, were benefiting from the Medical Aid programme. The NHI is divided into employee insurance and self-employed insurance. Employee insurance covers employees, employers, public servants and teachers. All residents in rural areas, and the self-employed in cities, except those covered by employee insurance and their dependents, are covered by self-employed insurance.

The National Health Insurance system is operated by the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs, the National Health Insurance Corporation (NHIC), and the Health Insurance Review Agency (HIRA). The Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs is in charge of supervision and management of the overall operation of the NHI. The NHIC oversees everyday tasks, such as determining the eligibility of the insured and their dependents, assessing and collecting insurance premiums and other fees, and making benefit payments. The HIRA reviews health care benefits and evaluates health care performance, independent of insurers, providers and other involved parties.

The finances of the NHI are mainly composed of contributions from the insured and their employers, along with government subsidies, including the National Health Promotion Fund. For an insured employee, the contribution is determined by the level of the standard monthly wage, the calculation of which is based on the wages earned by the employee over a specific period of time. Fifty per cent of the contribution is paid by the employee and 50% by his/her employer. For the self-employed, contributions are calculated per household unit, and the amount is determined by considering the insured person’s assets, income and other factors.

Since the introduction of the self-employed insurance scheme in 1998, the Government has subsidized health care benefits and the operation of the insurance programmes for the self-employed to relieve their financial burden. The Government annually supports 14% of the expected insurance premium for the year out of government money, and 6% out of the National Health Promotion Fund.


Human resources for health
The qualifications for health workers are strictly stipulated by law, and only those licensed by the Government can provide medical treatment and public health services. The Medical Service Act stipulates that the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs licenses doctors, dentists, traditional medicine doctors, midwives and nurses. The Act prescribes nurses’ aides, bonesetters, acupuncturists, moxibustionists and masseurs as quasi-medical persons.
There were 95 013 physicians, 23 912 dentists, 58 363 pharmacists and 246 837 nurses in the country as of 2008.

Partnerships
The Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs is making an effort to contribute to improved health and quality of life for the public by responding to the new challenges of low fertility and population ageing. The Ministry works with the public, nongovernmental groups, local governments and expert groups and includes all of them in its policy formation, implementation and assessment procedures. The partnership helps the Ministry to fulfil the real needs of the public.

At the same time, the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs also works in close partnership with international organizations, including WHO and OECD, to resolve pending global health issues. The Republic of Korea strives to play a leadership role in making people of the world healthy and sound by exchanging knowledge, experience and technology, and sharing human, physical and intellectual resources with international partners, as well as by signing memorandums of understanding in the field of health care with foreign governments.


Challenges to health system strengthening

Challenges to health system strengthening in the Republic of Korea include:

  • the increase in chronic disease;
  • the ageing population and low fertility rate; and
  • the inequity in income distribution.

Each challenge suggests health policy issues:

  • The growing incidence of chronic disease highlights the need to put a stronger emphasis on such diseases in the current health system.
  • The ageing population may mean an increase in the number of elderly people with health problems and higher health-related expenditure.
  • Income disparities may lead to inequity in health status.

To respond to these issues, the Government is making an effort to prevent disease, enhance NHI coverage, strengthen its own role in health care, and establish a financially sustainable health care delivery system.