On the 31st, Korean Nursing Association (KNA) President Shin Gyeong-rim said, "The enforcement of the Nursing Act in June 2025 is a shared achievement created with the public, built on decades of demands from the nursing community and the tenacious efforts of nurses who have safeguarded the field," while adding, "But the Nursing Act is not a finished product; it is only now standing at the starting line."
In a New Year's address that day, Shin emphasized, "The enforcement of the Nursing Act is a declarative moment in which our society has officially recognized the role of nursing," and added, "Now that declaration must lead to tangible change in the field."
Referring to the reality of entering a super-aged society, Shin said, "At the center of chronic disease management and care, and community health management, is nursing," and added, "The Nursing Act is not a choice but a demand of the times, and it must be proven not by declaration but by execution." Shin continued, "Its outcomes will be judged by safety in the field and the lives of the public."
Shin drew a line, saying, "Subordinate statutes that undermine the spirit of the law or incomplete and unilateral system designs can never be tolerated." Regarding clinical support duties, Shin said, "Even though they are already officially stipulated as nurses' duties under the law, some are diminishing and distorting nurses' expertise and claiming the collapse of the medical system," and criticized this as "an irresponsible practice that fuels public anxiety and threatens patient safety."
In particular, Shin strongly called for legislating a standard for an appropriate number of patients per nurse. Shin said, "Unless the appropriate patient count is specified by law, patient safety will remain only a slogan," and added, "A medical system that demands only devotion amid excessive workloads and structural staffing shortages is no longer sustainable." Shin emphasized, "Legislating staffing standards is an unavoidable duty of the state."
Regarding the Korean Nursing Association (KNA)'s activities over the past year, Shin said, "We did not remain silent," and added, "Emergency press conferences, solo protests, and mass rallies were not struggles but a final warning to protect patient safety." Shin continued, "We did not back down until a forum for policy dialogue opened, and at the same time, we have presented practical alternatives."
Shin cited dementia-specialist training, integrated care and home nursing models, expansion of the integrated nursing-care service, and improvements to the employment structure for new nurses, explaining, "All are practices aimed at a sustainable health care system with nurses at its center." Shin also noted that the Korean Nursing Association (KNA) won an innovation award in the international community as one of these achievements.
Shin presented the association's core tasks for 2026 as ▲ establishing an association-led overarching structure for education and credential management systems for clinical support duties ▲ legislating the appropriate number of patients per nurse ▲ fully settling the legal framework for the dedicated nurse system and expanding employment of new nurses ▲ building nurse-centered governance within the integrated care system.
Shin said, "The professionalism and solidarity of nurses nationwide created the Nursing Act," and added, "Now it is time to complete that law in the field." Shin stated, "The Korean Nursing Association (KNA) will never back down when it comes to nurses' authority and responsibility, and the lives of the public."
Shin added, "The year 2026 will be the first year in which the Nursing Act does not remain a declaration but takes root as trust in the field," and said, "Together with nurses nationwide and the public, we will move toward a safer medical system and a sustainable future of care."