President Yoon Suk-yeol called Tuesday for a quick "normalization" of the national health insurance system, saying the previous government's expanded coverage led to a waste of financial resources.

Yoon issued the call during a Cabinet meeting in what was seen as an indication of his intent to scrap the health insurance policy of the previous Moon Jae-in administration, which centered on expanding coverage and lowering the burden of hospital bills on households.

"Normalization of the national health insurance, which is the last bastion for protecting people's health, is urgent," he said. "Over the past five years, the government poured over 20 trillion won ($15.4 billion) into increasing coverage, but it neglected medical misappropriation and health insurance free-riding, passing the burden to the majority of the public."

Yoon said health insurance reform is not a choice but a necessity and called for strengthening criteria to prevent wasting health insurance resources.

He also promised to spend the saved resources on helping vulnerable citizens and treating patients with severe diseases.

"Populist policies that waste precious taxpayers' money destroy finances, damage the foundation of the health insurance system and ultimately force large sacrifices from the people," Yoon said.

The president also expressed deep regret over the parliamentary delay in passing the 2023 budget plan.

He also promised to pursue labor market reforms based on a set of recommendations by experts Monday, which included increasing flexibility in working hours and reorganizing wage systems around performance. (Yonhap)