The government plans to invest 3.3 trillion won ($2.5 billion) of its health insurance funding annually over the next five years to reform tertiary care hospitals to better prioritize the treatment of critically ill patients, the interior minister said Friday.

Minister Lee Sang-min made the remarks during a government meeting in response to ongoing walkouts by medical doctors protesting the government's medical reform, which includes a significant increase in the nationwide medical school admissions quota, starting in 2025.

As part of the reform, the government plans to invest 3.3 trillion won annually over the next five years in a restructuring project for tertiary care general hospitals, which begins next month, Lee noted.

"The workforce structure at top-tier general hospitals will be reorganized around medical specialists and physician assistant nurses," the minister said.

Through the restructuring, such tertiary care hospitals will be made to focus on high-level treatments, such as those for critically ill patients and rare diseases, while the number of hospital beds for patients with mild conditions will be reduced by 5 to 15 percent, according to the minister.

Including the investment for this project, a total of 20 trillion won will be spent over the next five years on the government's medical reform, he added.

"Without increasing the number of medical doctors, which are in short supply, it will be difficult to secure the medical workforce needed to normalize essential and regional medical services," Lee said. (Yonhap)