Plan on establishment of post-unification North Korean medical safety net

ABSTRACT

Establishing social security networks for the reunification of the Koreas is important to minimize social disturbances. Above all, it is highly critical to establish a medical safety net. The non-political and humanitarian aspects of medical services may be used as a valuable tool to initiate peaceful exchanges between the two Koreas amid geopolitical tensions. It is necessary to determine principles and set up strategies in order to build medical safety net in the course of reunification. A staged approach is required. In the first phase, we need to establish a system to ensure expedited basic medical services while South Korea's medical insurance, public medical care, and emergency medical service systems are replicated in the second phase. The North Korean system then needs to be developed into a more robust medical safety net in the third phase. In order to engage in this approach successfully, it is necessary to close gaps and promote trades between the two Koreas, conduct consistent research and monitoring, and secure a professional personnel pool. Along with such efforts, it will also be necessary to coordinate other political, social, economic, and cultural policies and processes of establishing other social security nets. The successfully established medical safety net will play an important role in maximizing the benefits of reunification.