Jeong Gyeong-sil, the head of the Health and Welfare Ministry's Medical Reform Promotion Team, briefs on the status of medical reform at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Nov. 27. /Courtesy of Yonhap News

All 47 national advanced general hospitals have decided to participate in the structural transformation support project promoted by the government.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare noted on the 24th that Samsung Medical Center, Ulsan University Hospital, and Inha University Hospital have been additionally selected as participating institutions in the support project.

The structural transformation of advanced general hospitals is a project to reorganize them around severe, emergency, and rare diseases. Hospitals participating in the transformation will increase the proportion of acute care to 70% and reduce general beds by about 15%.

With this additional selection, all 47 advanced general hospitals will begin the structural transformation. A total of 3,625 general beds, excluding intensive care and emergency beds, will be reduced. These 3,625 beds account for 8.6% of all general beds in advanced general hospitals.

Samsung Medical Center, which is participating in this transformation, plans to reduce its existing 1,692 general beds to 1,459, while Ulsan University Hospital will decrease from 832 to 792. Inha University Hospital plans to reduce its general beds from 775 to 709, resulting in a decrease of 66 beds.

Jeong Gyeong-sil, head of the Ministry of Health and Welfare's medical reform promotion team, said, “With all advanced general hospitals participating in the structural transformation support project, a desirable change is expected in which these hospitals focus on balanced development in clinical practice, training, and research as 'patient-centered hospitals.'”