The Association of Korean Medicine (AKOM) staged a solo protest Friday morning near the venue of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service's expert advisory meeting, where the Health Insurance Policy Deliberation Committee was convened. AKOM argues that the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) has left unaddressed for more than a year a supplementary resolution to "support the promotion of policies to expand Korean medicine coverage," which was agreed during last year's fee negotiations, and demands its immediate implementation.
According to AKOM, the supplementary resolution on "support for the promotion of policies to expand Korean medicine coverage" was finalized through discussion and resolution by the Financial Management Committee during the 2026 fee negotiations held in May 2025. The core of the resolution is for the MOHW to consult with the association and prepare concrete measures to expand coverage by the first half of this year, such as improving the fee structure for procedures and treatments so that better Korean medicine services can be provided to the public. Subsequently, substantial review procedures including financial estimates were largely carried out, and by the end of March this year, progress had advanced to the point where the MOHW directly explained the direction of the initiative and even allowed some members to be informed of the related content. However, AKOM points out that as the time for implementation arrived, the ministry has been delaying execution without any explanation.
AKOM officials who participated in the solo protest said, "The MOHW is heavily promoting the 'first overhaul of the health insurance fee structure in 20 years' at this Health Insurance Policy Deliberation Committee, but it has failed for more than a year to implement matters officially agreed upon through the Financial Management Committee's resolution and the fee negotiation process." They added, "The harm is falling on the public, who should be receiving quality Korean medicine services." They further urged, "The MOHW must stop its practice of selectively executing Financial Management Committee resolutions and immediately fulfill its promise to expand Korean medicine coverage."
