보건복지부 영문홈페이지

Ministry of Health and Welfare and Seven Organizations Make

“One Team” to Support Overseas Expansion of Korea’s Healthcare System

- “K-Health Overseas Expansion Support Team” was launched on Mar. 28, 2023-

- Starting in 2024, Korea will seek close cooperation with ASEAN, Africa, and Central and South America in health insurance, response to infectious diseases, medical information system, and digital healthcare -

 

Seven healthcare-related organizations under the Ministry of Health and Welfare (Hereinafter ‘MOHW’) including Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, and National Health Insurance Corporation will work together to support overseas expansion of K-Health in ASEAN, Africa, and Central and South America where Korea’s healthcare industry has a greater chance of sharing and expanding its healthcare policy and systems. This will likely intensify Korea’s international cooperation in the healthcare sector.

* The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, the National Health Insurance Corporation, the Korea Human Resource Development Institute for Health & Welfare, Korea Social Security Information Service, the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare, and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute.

On Tuesday, March 28, 2023, the MOHW announced the plan at the launching ceremony for the “K-Health Overseas Expansion Support Team” held at EL Tower in Seocho-gu, Seoul.

The seven organizations involved in this project will implement various cooperation projects in the areas where Korea is highly competitive including health insurance, response to infectious diseases, the medical information system, digital healthcare and the health industry in developing countries from 2024 to 2027. Accordingly, the MOHW expanded the Korea-ASEAN Healthcare Cooperation Project and integrated it into the K-Health Overseas Expansion Support Project to support overseas expansion of Korea’s healthcare programs and systems more effectively from 2024.

At the launching ceremony, the MOHW announced its plan to implement this project, and the organizations concerned talked about their respective roles in this project. Professor Juhwan Oh of Seoul National University made policy recommendations on how to support the overseas expansion of the advanced Korean healthcare policies and system.

Appendix 1 An Overview of K-Health Overseas Expansion Support Projec.

□ Brief History & Key Concerns

○ Korea and ASEAN have been working on cooperation projects in health insurance including funding for health insurance and drug utilization review (DUR) and other health insurance since 2021.

○ The Korea-ASEAN Healthcare Cooperation Project, the only overseas expansion support platform for the healthcare sector, has contributed significantly to building mutual trust. However, the scope of cooperation is limited, and the project requires an integrated approach to implementing tasks, which warrants further efforts to make improvements.

□ Expansion & Integration into K-Health Overseas Expansion Support Project

○ The Korea-ASEAN Healthcare Cooperation Project was expanded and integrated into the “K-Health Overseas Expansion Support Project” to support overseas expansion of Korean healthcare programs and systems more systematically and strategically from 2024.

○ (Structural Improvements) Previously, different organizations were involved in a variety of different overseas expansion projects. They have been integrated into the single platform of the K-Health Overseas Expansion Support Project, with the K-Health Project Team as the sole implementation agency.

- The secretariat will be designated in 2023 to ensure systematic and consistent implementation of the project, and the K-Health policy advisory group of healthcare experts will be formed to visit partner countries and provide custom-tailored advice.

< K-Health Overseas Expansion Support Platforms >

○ (Expansion of cooperation) In addition to the health insurance sector, the project will be expanded to the medical information system, digital healthcare and the health industry in which developing countries have shown high interest after the COVID-19 outbreak, and Korean corporations will also be invited to work on the project.

< Examples of K-Health Project >

- In addition, starting in 2024, to ensure that cooperation projects lead to overseas sales, government officials of partner countries will be invited to Korea for field-based education and training, including demonstration of medical information systems, visits to Korean pharmaceutical production facilities, and training to use Korean medical devices.

○ (Diversification of cooperation partners) The K-Health Team will build cooperation networks in various healthcare fields with Africa, and Central and South America that have high potential as Korea’s new markets while it continues to strengthen cooperation with ASEAN.

* The K-Health Team plans to create communication channels on healthcare with regional cooperation councils in Africa, and Central and South America, and conduct field surveys to create bases for overseas expansion of Korean healthcare services by the end of this year.