South Korea urged to adopt 'basic healthcare' system guaranteeing universal health rights

A new proposal calls for a fundamental shift in South Korea's healthcare system, moving away from its current reactive approach to a proactive model centered on "basic healthcare." This concept posits that the state should guarantee essential health rights for all citizens, including life protection, care, prevention, and recovery, irrespective of their place of residence or the profitability of services.

The proposal was presented by Shin Hyun-woong, head of the Health and Medical Policy Research Office at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, during the first Future Social Security Forum. The forum, co-hosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and other research bodies, aimed to discuss mid-to-long-term social security policies in response to challenges like artificial intelligence adoption, demographic shifts, and regional decline.

Shin criticized the existing healthcare policies for regional, essential, and public medical services, describing them as "patchwork" solutions that only fill gaps after they emerge. He explained that these policies typically address issues after medical vulnerabilities arise or essential treatment fields collapse, offering separate support measures. Regional policies aim to fill geographical gaps, essential medical policies supplement market-driven areas, and public medical services support those unable to access market-based care.

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Health is not an individual burden but a common foundation that society bears together.

In contrast, "basic healthcare" is framed as "healthcare for all," a universal standard that the state is responsible for upholding. Shin asserted, "Health is not an individual burden but a common foundation that society bears together." He outlined four key health rights that the state must guarantee: the right to protection in life-threatening situations (emergency, surgery, cancer, severe illness), the right to necessary health management and care throughout life, the right to maintain health through prevention and management before illness, and the right to support for returning to daily life after treatment.

Shin further emphasized that basic healthcare is not a state-provided welfare service but a duty mandated by the constitution, citing the constitutional rights to human dignity and life, and the state's obligation to protect public health. The proposal also delineated roles for the state and local governments: the state should ensure the four health rights and establish the financial, institutional, and delivery system foundations, while local regions should build "close-contact healthcare" systems to ensure these national systems effectively reach individuals.

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Basic healthcare is not a state-provided welfare service but a duty mandated by the constitution.