Interior Minister Lee Sang-min led a government meeting in Seoul to address the ongoing walkouts by medical doctors. He announced a plan to allocate 3.3 trillion won annually for the next five years from health insurance funding to revamp tertiary care hospitals, with a focus on treating critically ill patients. This initiative is part of broader medical reforms that have sparked protests from doctors, including a significant increase in medical school admissions starting in 2025. Minister Lee emphasized that the restructuring project for top-tier general hospitals, starting next month, will prioritize medical specialists and physician assistant nurses. The reform aims to shift the focus of these hospitals to high-level treatments for critical illnesses and rare diseases, while reducing the number of beds for patients with less severe conditions by 5 to 15 percent. Overall, the government plans to spend 20 trillion won over the next five years on medical reform to address challenges in securing an adequate medical workforce and ensuring essential medical services are available nationwide.