Lee Jun-seok, presidential candidate of the minor conservative New Reform Party, on Wednesday unveiled plans to overhaul South Korea’s regional medical care system, citing operational challenges caused by a declining number of medical residents.
He proposed consolidating the current 17 regional trauma centers into up to six major hubs, while maintaining two emergency medical centers per region. The revamped system would be fully operated with government funding.
To accelerate emergency response, Lee also pledged to strengthen the air evacuation network by deploying at least one emergency medical services helicopter per province and securing urban landing zones, in coordination with the fire department.
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