In this article, I present supported housing-based care as a new option for providing both protection and independent-living support in an integrated manner for children and adolescents requiring out-of-home care (OOHC), an alternative that remedies the limitations of facility-based care. Moving in this direction requires, first and foremost, establishing age criteria, which, together with the readiness for independence, should guide the design of a phase-specific entry scheme. As the intended beneficiaries are “children,” not adults, a clear legal basis should be established so that they are effectively protected and their rights are fully guaranteed under supported-housing OOHC (SH-OOHC). This includes provisions explicitly recognizing the child’s right to “reside” and designating national and local governments as the responsible bodies. Furthermore, relevant regulations should be amended to ensure a stable supply of housing. SH-OOHC should be delivered through integrated case management, enabling youth to continue living and developing within the community.

In this study, I classified dual-earner couple households into three cluster groups―the work-oriented (WO), role-distinct (RD), and work-childcare coordinating (WCC) groups―based on the composition of time they spent on paid work, housework, and childcare. Between 2019 and 2024, the percentage of the WO group declined slightly, while the proportion of the WCC group increased, indicating a gradual shift in time allocation among dual-earner households. However, WO couple households continued to account for the largest share. Each of these three groups demonstrated a gradual shift of its own in time allocation to paid work, housework, and childcare, while still maintaining its dual-earner structure. For some groups, though not all, increases were observed in men’s time spent on childcare. Similarly, women in certain groups showed increases in hours devoted to paid work and childcare and reduced time spent on housework. From 2019 to 2024, time allocation among these couple households tended toward a greater balance between men and women and between work and family, a trend likely facilitated by a combination of increased labor market participation among women, the cumulative effect of government work-family balance policies, and changing public perception of gender equality. A notable finding is that among those with high childcare needs―defined here as having two or more children of ages requiring close care―couples showed a stronger tendency to adjust their time allocation around paid work and childcare. However, as the WO group remained the majority among couples with children of ages requiring close care, their adjustments in time allocation may place a greater burden on women than on men. This points to the need to allow dual-earner couples to adjust their working hours and to broaden the scope of work-family balance policies.

Achieving the goal of expanding essential health care (EHC) requires fostering a shared understanding through extensive communication with stakeholders and inclusive feedback gathering, while considering the current socio-political and cultural context. The majority of the public, both as beneficiaries of health care policy and as stakeholders, supports a greater state role in ensuring better access to expanded EHC. However, there is a lack of consensus on what precisely counts as EHC. Efforts to advance EHC should proceed based on clear, policy-oriented definitions, a well-defined scope for EHC areas as appropriate to the Korean context, and broad agreement on related policy priorities.

While ranking lowest in the world in terms of total fertility and total number of births, Korea has seen a steady increase in multiple births over the years, with the result that it now ranks second in multiple birth rate and first in the rate of triplet and higher-order births among the countries included in the Human Multiple Births Database. As maternal age increases over time, multifetal pregnancies are increasingly at risk for preterm birth and low birthweight, requiring longer-term policy attention, including continued monitoring of various postpartum risk factors associated with multiple births, such as health issues and care burden. However, one challenge in Korea is that, aside from limited data on multiple births―which provide only a basic profile (e.g., number of births, birthweight, gestational age)―there is little established evidence to gain a comprehensive understanding of both postnatal childcare and the care environment in households with multiples, as well as their needs for policy support. These circumstances call for additional evidence and further research on households with multiples, which should lead to informed policy discussions and the development of a system of continuous, integrated health and welfare services tailored to their needs.

Physical activity is essential to preventing obesity and promoting mental health among children and adolescents; yet, obesity prevalence and physical activity indicators for these groups have either deteriorated or shown little improvement in recent years. In order to promote physical activity at schools, recent policy initiatives have sought to both enhance the quality of and allocate more hours to physical education (PE), and encourage school sports club activities. However, hindered by various constraints―such as shortages in workforce and material resources both within and beyond school settings, poor coordination across programs, a lack of strategies to make physical activity programs appealing to children and adolescents, and restrictions driven by concerns over potential complaints―these policy measures have often been administered in a perfunctory manner and remained limited in effect. Further promotion of school-based physical activity requires veering away from a PE-centric model toward an integrated approach to making physical settings conducive to physical activity, strengthening staffing support, developing strategies that motivate students, and linking various programs within the framework of the current Physical Activity Promotion System.

With Korea’s local healthcare in a state verging on crisis, concerns are growing about the insufficient capacity of national university-affiliated hospitals and the social costs arising from patients increasingly seeking care at Seoul-based tertiary care hospitals. The net cost of transportation and lodging alone, incurred by local patients using services at these Seoul-based institutions instead of their nearby national university-affiliated hospitals, is estimated at KRW421.1 million. With opportunity costs and differences in healthcare expenses taken account of, the total net cost may amount to as much as KRW4.627 trillion. The Survey of Local Residents’ Perception of National University-Affiliated Hospitals found that as many as 81.2 percent of those surveyed were concerned (including ‘very concerned’) about healthcare disparities between the Capital Region and the other regions. For severe illnesses, respondents were more in favor of using tertiary-care general hospitals in the Capital Region than their local national university-affiliated hospitals; 80.9 percent supported government assistance for these general hospitals in non-Capital regions.

In this study, we simulate the effects of several key modifications currently proposed for the National Basic Livelihood Security system (NBLS), using data from the Household Finances and Living Conditions Survey (HFLCS). The simulation analysis indicates that these changes―reducing the discrepancy between the standard median income and the actual median income derived from the HFLCS, raising the eligibility ceilings for Livelihood Allowance, increasing the basic deduction on earned and business income, and easing asset criteria―broaden NBLS coverage and reduce poverty. However, raising the eligibility limit for the Housing Allowance has little effect on poverty reduction, as it works to the benefit primarily of low-income individuals who are not in absolute poverty. Further discussion is needed on rationalizing the standard median income, relaxing asset criteria, and redefining the roles of the Livelihood, Housing, and Education Allowances.

Limiting duty hours is essential for safeguarding residents’ rights, both as workers and trainees, and for ensuring patient safety. In response to medical accidents caused by fatigue among residents and interns, some countries have begun addressing the issue of long duty hours, implementing duty-hour limits earlier than Korea. Although the duty-hour caps for residents and interns in Korea were lowered with the implementation of the Act for the Improvement of Training Conditions and Status of Medical Residents, these limits―set at 80 hours per week, plus an additional 8 hours for education, and 36 consecutive hours with an extra 4 for emergencies―remain higher than those in other countries. The government recently launched a pilot project testing reduced limits of 72 hours per week, plus 8 for education, and 24 consecutive hours, with an additional 4 for emergencies, before implementing them nationwide. In addition to reducing duty hours, it is crucial to ensure sufficient learning opportunities for residents.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the international community recognized the need to strengthen international health security systems to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the spread of infectious diseases, with the result that negotiations for a pandemic treaty are underway. A major focus of these negotiations is the establishment of a system of pathogen access and benefit-sharing, in connection with which discussions have been ongoing, informed by assessments of COVID-19 situations, about the need to ensure equitable access to vaccines. While several frameworks exist regarding access to genetic resources and the sharing of benefits derived from their use―including the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources, and the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework (PIP Framework)―no system is in place for sharing non-influenza pathogen samples, related genetic sequence data, and benefits arising from their use. Such a system could be modeled on the genetic sequence sharing mechanism used during the COVID-19 pandemic or the PIP Framework’s Standard Material Transfer Agreements (SMTA). However, further discussions are likely needed before the international community can implement this system.

To better respond in the future to such large-scale economic crises as the one caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, strategies should be developed based on a thorough assessment of the pandemic’s effects on income and poverty and a precise evaluation of the extent to which disaster relief payments and the National Basic Living Security Scheme mitigated these effects. The pandemic in its early stage had negative effects on market income levels and the poverty rate; however, by 2021, these effects had diminished. COVID-19’s impact on market income did not lead to a disposable income shock, thanks to public transfers. Our analysis suggests that to respond effectively and efficiently to future economic crises, the policy focus should shift from the traditional, targeted income protection approaches―such as those concentrating support on older persons and those in poverty―to a universal application of social insurance, specifically a major expansion of employment insurance coverage.