The Ministry of Health and Welfare said on the 15th it will reassign hospital emergency rooms for 2026–2029. The aim is to strengthen the capacity of emergency medical institutions.
The ministry released the "emergency medical institution reassignment plan" that day to select emergency medical institutions. In the past, once an emergency medical institution was designated, there was little change and new entries were not active. The government revised the Emergency Medical Service Act in 2015 and introduced a system to reassign emergency medical institutions every three years.
All currently operating regional emergency medical centers, local emergency medical centers and institutions, and pediatric emergency medical centers are subject to reassignment. To be designated as an emergency medical institution, institutions must meet standards set by the relevant law.
The ministry plans to evaluate not only personnel, facilities, and equipment but also whether emergency rooms and subsequent medical institutions are fully equipped to provide care. The number of regional emergency medical centers will be expanded from 44 to as many as about 60. This will strengthen the response to severe emergency patients.
Those wishing to be designated as an emergency medical institution must submit an application and an operational plan. If selected as an emergency medical institution, the institution will undergo annual evaluations and receive subsidies and emergency medical fees (money paid by the National Health Insurance Service to hospitals). Subsidies this year range from 30 million won to 600 million won. A Ministry of Health and Welfare official said, "We will improve the emergency medical system to protect the lives and health of the people."