2026 New Year’s Address by the Minister of Health and Welfare

Dear fellow citizens,

As we welcome 2026―the Year of the Fire Horse―I sincerely hope that health and peace will be with all of you and your families.

Over the past year, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has focused its policy efforts on strengthening the social safety net that protects our people and laying the foundations for regional, essential, and public healthcare.

We expanded the Integrated Care pilot program across the country and reinforced the basic living safety net by raising the standard median income―the basis for various welfare benefits―by the highest rate on record. We also stepped up efforts to enhance regional, essential, and public healthcare by advancing measures such as the introduction of the community doctor system and the transfer of administrative authority over national university hospitals.

However, in the face of rapidly changing policy conditions―including the accelerating shift toward a super-aged society, growing caregiving burdens, the emergence of new welfare needs such as social isolation, and widening regional disparities in healthcare―this is a time that calls for a more proactive national response.

In 2026, amid a rapidly evolving social environment, the Ministry of Health and Welfare will pursue four key goals to realize the vision of "A Strong Foundation for a Welfare State, A Happier Korea for All": strengthening the state’s responsibility for care; building a stronger basic safety net; reinforcing regional, essential, and public healthcare; and advancing future-oriented innovation in health and welfare.

First, we will strengthen the state’s responsibility for care.

Beginning this March, we will fully implement integrated care services that bring together medical, caregiving, housing, and welfare support, so that people can receive the assistance they need while continuing to live where they are.

We will strengthen health and medical support from pregnancy through childbirth and beyond by incrementally raising the eligibility age for Child Allowance―by one year each year through 2030―and expanding support for essential fertility testing. 

We will also advance policies to improve the quality of life for persons with disabilities, including expanding daytime and after-school activity services for people with developmental disabilities.

Second, we will build a stronger basic safety net.

By expanding livelihood benefits, supporting National Pension contributions for low-income self-employed subscribers, strengthening pension credits for military service and childbirth, and expanding job opportunities for older adults, we will establish a more comprehensive income safety net.

We will also ease the burden of medical expenses by abolishing the Deemed Support Amount in the Medical Aid Program and reducing out-of-pocket caregiving costs.

We will respond proactively to social crises by strengthening suicide prevention and response systems and expanding the Basic Food Support Program (“Just Give”) nationwide, which provides food and daily necessities without requiring an application or income screening.

Third, we will reinforce regional, essential, and public healthcare.

Anchored by national university hospitals, we will establish a self-sufficient regional system for essential care. We will strengthen regional healthcare by reforming community-based primary care, developing full-service secondary hospitals, and supporting tertiary hospitals in refocusing on the treatment of severe and complex conditions. In doing so, we will build a more reliable regional healthcare network.

We will ensure adequate staffing in essential specialties and medically underserved areas by expanding the contract-based local essential doctor program, introducing the community doctor system, and establishing public medical schools. We will also strengthen compensation for essential medical services by expanding policy-based reimbursement and creating a dedicated fund for regional essential healthcare.

In addition, we will build an emergency medical system that saves lives. By improving patient transfer and referral systems, reducing legal liability risks for healthcare professionals and hospitals, and strengthening emergency department capacity, we will ensure that patients with severe emergency conditions receive appropriate care within the golden hour. 

Fourth, we will advance future-oriented innovation in health and welfare.

To take a leap forward as a global leader in biohealth technology, we will establish new funds dedicated to Phase 3 clinical trials, expand investment in the development of advanced medical devices, and strengthen support for cosmetics exports.

We will actively pursue pension reform to ensure stable income security in later life and reorganize the Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy into a central control tower to coordinate a whole-of-government response to demographic challenges. 

We will also drive AI transformation in health and welfare by applying AI technologies to the management of emergency medical resources and to patient transfer and referral, and by leveraging AI to improve the efficiency of welfare benefit administration.

Dear fellow citizens,

As the ministry responsible for safeguarding the health and daily lives of the people, the Ministry of Health and Welfare will continue to listen closely, communicate actively, and deliver policies that make a tangible difference in your everyday lives.

As we begin the new year of 2026, I wish you all happiness and good fortune.

Happy New Year.

January 1, 2026

Jeong Eun Kyeong

Minister of Health and Welfare