[Introduction of a Pilot Project to Establish a Regional Comprehensive Medical Response System in 2023]

To overcome the repeated experience of hospital bed and medical personnel shortages for epidemics such as coronavirus disease 2019 delta and omicron, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced the "Mid- to Long-term Plan for Emerging Infectious Disease Pandemics" in May 2023. A key goal of this was "establishing a response system capable of responding to 1 million confirmed cases per day." Accordingly, the KDCA promoted "A Pilot Project to Establish a Regional Comprehensive Medical Response System" as one of its core tasks of "significantly expanding medical response infrastructure and establishing a specialized treatment system." In 2023, each region established consultative bodies focused on infectious diseases, centered on regional hospitals, thereby laying the foundation for tailored medical response systems. However, budget constraints leading to a lack of dedicated personnel, participating organizations' limited understanding, and policy gaps due to exclusion of key bodies like the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Central Infectious Disease Hospital emerged as challenges. To further develop a medical response system tailored to the characteristics of the region, the performance of the project needs to be strengthened and its limitations improved.