Seoul, March 6 South Korea will push for measures to bolster medical safety and reduce medical accidents, including heavier compensation responsibility of the state, the health ministry said on Thursday.
The plan, unveiled at a parliamentary policy forum, also includes the introduction of a "no punishment against will" policy for deaths that occur during acts of essential medical care and the expansion of insurance coverage for medical accidents, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Yonhap news agency reported.
Under the plan, the ministry is considering allowing medical workers involved in death cases related to essential medical care to avoid criminal charges when the family of the deceased gives consent as part of efforts to lower the burden on medical staff.
It plans to newly establish a deliberation committee on medical accidents to determine medical malpractice in such cases within 150 days and shift the focus of the criminal prosecution system on such cases from the weight of damage to malpractice.
The plan also includes making it mandatory for medical institutions to buy insurance against medical accidents, while part of the insurance fees will be supported by the government.
Additionally, the government will review expanding state subsidies for various medical services, such as emergency medical treatment and intensive care for infants.
Meanwhile, amid the prolonged dispute with trainee doctors, the South Korean government has raised the possibility of scrapping a controversial increase in medical school admissions for next year, according to sources familiar with the matter, Yonhap reported.
Education Minister Lee Ju-ho met with the deans of medical schools last month and said he may consider setting an annual admission quota of 3,058 for 2026, down 2,000 from this year, if the medical students currently on leave return for the March semester, according to government officials and medical sources.
For more than a year, the government and trainee doctors have been in dispute as the government hiked the number of medical school admissions by 2,000 starting this year.
However, no concrete agreement was reportedly reached during the meeting.
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