President Yoon Suk Yeol (fourth from left) is greeted by medical staff at Jeju National University Hospital on Tuesday. (Presidential office)
South Korea's southern Jeju Island could have its first tertiary hospital in 2027. President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday that the government is considering easing policy hurdles for the self-governing province to have an accredited general hospital, which currently requires a population of 1 million in the region.
The island is home to nearly 700,000, remaining far short of the requirement, but Yoon said such a "policy hurdle" needed to be addressed as part of a medical reform drive to secure essential medical care infrastructure in remote regions, including Jeju Island.
"Due to the lack of medical infrastructure on Jeju Island, (patients with severe symptoms and their guardians) have to travel to Seoul and other parts of the Korean Peninsula for medical service. If bad weather hinders their travel, imagine how nervous the patients and their families would get," Yoon said at a public policy dialogue session on Jeju Island.
A general hospital can be designated tertiary if deemed adequate for "highly specialized medical services for treating serious diseases" under the Medical Service Act. The government has regularly selected such highly sophisticated medical institutions every three years.
Tertiary hospitals can provide access to special medical services for brain diseases and cancers, among other cases. The designation also brings with it an increase in funding to the institution.
Also during Tuesday's briefing, Jung Yoon-soon, who heads the ministry's health care policy division, noted that Jeju Island has "unique characteristics" that make its situation different from those of other regions.
Jung told reporters that the fact that Jeju Island has attracted about 13 million tourists annually for the past five years may offset it not meeting the minimum population threshold, in terms of explaining why Jeju Island would need a tertiary hospital.
President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers his speech during a public policy dialogue on Jeju Island on Tuesday. (Yonhap)
According to the ministry, Seoul is conducting policy research through the end of this year to gather opinions on how tertiary hospitals in the country should be designated and evaluated.
Following the completion of the research, the ministry plans to make a preliminary announcement in June next year, which will likely include the finalized criteria for the designation. Medical institutions will then be able to apply from June to August of the same year, and the ministry will name new tertiary general hospitals in January 2027.
South Korea has 47 tertiary hospitals nationwide, according to the latest designation, which is to remain effective for three years until 2026.
None of the six general hospitals on Jeju Island has been granted such government accreditation.
Jeju National University Hospital was the only applicant on the island in last year's competition. It was one of seven general hospitals not to make the cut out of 54 competitors nationwide.
Data released by Rep. Wi Seong-gon of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea shows that as of 2022, around 140,000 Jeju Island residents spent nearly 240 billion won ($176 million) on medical expenses outside the island.
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