President Lee Jae-myung stated today (the 22nd) that the government is continuously reviewing policies aimed at strengthening state responsibility regarding issues in public and essential healthcare.

Presiding over a meeting on regional, essential, and public healthcare at the Blue House, President Lee expressed his hope that proper medical policies would be formulated by reflecting field feedback as much as possible, ensuring they are rational, viable, and capable of reinforcing public accountability.

Recalling his past experience handling medical lawsuits as a lawyer, President Lee shared, "Even while arguing a doctor's negligence in court, I sometimes thought, 'It seems the basic conditions necessary to uphold the doctor's duty of care are not in place; shouldn't the state be the one to pay compensation instead?'"

He continued, "I came to think that the recent gaps in public and essential healthcare can ultimately be resolved fundamentally only through institutional reinforcement," adding, "My view on that remains unchanged."

Emphasizing the importance of the issue, he said, "Therefore, it is crucial to examine whether the medical fee system is properly structured and to rationalize the fee system," and stressed, "To expand public healthcare, we must decisively strengthen the responsibility of the state community."

In the same context, regarding the expansion of medical school admission quotas, he noted, "We have currently focused only on regional areas. That is a sort of compromise, and after five years, we will be able to strengthen necessary sectors."

Addressing the expansion of regional healthcare, President Lee stated, "Improving the medical environment is a core element in terms of balanced regional development and improving settlement conditions for that purpose," adding, "I believe this will also be possible by strengthening public roles."

President Lee also highlighted that certain achievements in medical reform have been made since the launch of the current administration.

Targeting the push for medical school quota increases during the previous administration, he remarked, "There was a brief period of disruption in our healthcare system, but reforms are progressing to the point where citizens might wonder, 'When did things get so quiet?'" He evaluated himself, saying, "While it is not entirely complete, achieving significant progress on the medical school quota issue and securing regional essential healthcare, which were major parts of the medical reform, is a tremendous achievement."

He also noted, "Usually, when we think of reform, we envision a noisy, confrontational, and opposing atmosphere, but we have proven that we can reach certain conclusions sufficiently through dialogue and persuasion without such conflict."

Chuckling as he said, "It is so quiet that it feels like nothing has been done," President Lee prompted applause for Minister of Health and Welfare Jeong Eun-kyeong, officials, politicians, and the medical community.

(Photo: Yonhap News)