By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
The government said Tuesday that it will not privatize the national health insurance scheme. Instead it will improve the current framework of the public healthcare system to better protect public health, Health, Welfare and Family Affairs Minister Kim Soung-yee said.
His remark came amid growing worries over the privatization of public health insurance in line with President Lee Myung-bak's move to sharpen competitive edges of public services firms.
As the possibility looms, civic groups and those in mid- and low-income brackets denounced the government's move, saying the privatization plan will only benefit high-income earners, with the remaining people having limited access to needed medical services in hospitals and pharmacies.
``Public concerns are rising over the possible privatization of health insurance,'' the minister said during a speech at a European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea (EUCCK) luncheon at Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul. ``I would like to make clear here today that our government is not considering privatizing health insurance. We will stick to the basic framework of the current healthcare system and make it better to better protect people's health.''
The minister said the government has a strong commitment to remove regulations that stand in the way of autonomy and creativity of the private sector and expand investment in healthcare R&D in order to foster the healthcare industry as a new growth engine.
``We will ensure more effective and efficient management of medical organizations by encouraging them to raise capital through various channels and keep working to increase the size of R&D investment in the healthcare industry which accounts for a meager 9 percent of total R&D investment at present,'' he said.
The minister also showed his rosy view on Korea-EU FTA negotiations, which are now underway.
``With negotiations still under way, I cannot say for sure about how they will turn out. But the deal, if concluded, would expand mutual benefits by opening the markets for healthcare products and enhance an investment environment for companies by making the administrative process more transparent. It will truly be a win-win negotiation for Korea and the EU,'' Kim said.