Civic groups fear 'cosmetic increase' in regional healthcare fund

Civic groups in South Korea are raising alarms over the government's plan to establish a 1.2 trillion won special fund for essential regional healthcare services. Their primary concern is that the fund might be filled by simply transferring existing budgets from other public health programs, rather than injecting genuinely new financial resources.

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The government must stop 'shuffling' by filling the newly established special fund for essential regional healthcare with existing general accounting projects under a different name.

Organizations such as the Movement for Good Public Hospitals and the Movement for Free Healthcare argue that this approach would amount to a mere 'budget shuffle,' failing to provide the substantial increase in funding needed to revitalize regional medical infrastructure. They contend that if existing projects are merely rebranded under the new special fund, the actual financial commitment to regional healthcare would not increase, potentially exacerbating existing disparities.

These concerns are shared by lawmakers involved in the legislation. Kim Yun, a Democratic Party lawmaker who sponsored the relevant bill, stressed that at least 800 billion won of the 1.2 trillion won fund should consist of newly allocated funds. He warned that simply moving money around would undermine the purpose of the law, which aims to strengthen essential healthcare services and reduce regional medical gaps.

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If the special fund is cut or replaced with existing budgets, regional healthcare will continue to collapse, and regional residents will have to travel to more distant cities for treatment, widening the gap between regions.

The civic groups have formally submitted their opinions to the presidential office, urging the government to allocate the full 1.2 trillion won as new funding for fresh initiatives. They emphasize that without a significant increase in real investment, regional healthcare systems will continue to deteriorate, forcing residents to travel further for treatment and widening the urban-rural divide in healthcare access.

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To substantially improve the regional medical gap, a considerable amount of newly increased budget is needed. At least 800 billion won out of 1.2 trillion won should be new funding.