President Kim Sun-min of the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA) delivers her speech at her inaugural ceremony on April 22.

Chairperson Kim Sun-min of the OECD’s Health Care Quality and Outcome (HCQO) Working Group took office as the 10th president of the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA) at an inaugural ceremony on April 22, in which she pledged to make HIRA an agency “loved by the people.”

In her inaugural speech at a ceremony at HIRA headquarters in Wonju, Gangwon-do, President Kim said, “Outside questions have been raised on the efficiency of review and assessment, our key functions, and outside and inside communication methods for rational decision-making badly need to be changed as staff members are getting bigger.”

HIRA’s task of adapting to the new normal in the post-COVID-19 era is no exception, she said.

“Even though we find it hard to explore a road that has been never trodden, it is our HIRA’s tactics,” President Kim said. President Kim put forward the following goals.

First, she called for establishing HIRA as the nation’s top decision-making body in making rational decisions related to medical security payments, including coverage on health insurance in terms of adequacy and feasibility.

Secondly, she urged HIRA to become the world’s premier health insurance payment management institution, responsible for solving overall issues of the Korean medical delivery system and making up for them.
Third, Kim asked about making HIRA trusted by related organizations.

Fourth, she called for making HIRA a work site everyone wants to be a part of, considered to be in high esteem.

Lastly, Kim wants to establish HIRA as the nation’s top public entity loved by all people. Living up to these visions, President Kim demanded the following tasks HIRA will have to handle.

First, she called for completing a process of overhauling the ongoing evaluation regime and fundamentally innovating an adequacy evaluation regime.

Secondly, President Kim asked for making policies to strengthen health insurance coverage for inclusive growth a success.

Thirdly, she urged HIRA to complement the so-called people-centered medical security regime.

Fourthly, Kim asked for proactively realizing social values as a public entity.

In order to accomplish the tasks, she proposed three priority sectors.

First, President Kim asked for dramatically upgrading a telecommunication system corresponding to the post-COVID-19 era.

Secondly, she called for creating a fresh mechanism to communicate with staffs across the nation, medical personnel and people, particularly technological and institutional tools to make health insurance and medical delivery system patients- and people-oriented.

Thirdly, Kim called for proactive and aggressive ethics management to promote human rights and integrity.

As this year marks the 20th anniversary under the brand “HIRA,’ President Kim called for her officers and staff members to devote themselves to making a leap forward to become an institution, trusted and beloved by people.

Kim, a graduate from Seoul National University Preventive Medicine Department, obtained a master’s and a doctorate degree from the university.

She worked as professor with Hallym University College of Medicine, a human rights officer with the National Human Rights Commission and chairperson of OECD’s Health Care Quality and Outcome (HCQO) Working Group.

HIRA President KimSun-min poses with Chairman Choi Dae-zip of the Korea Medical Association after discussing pending issues during her visit to the association on April 23. (Photos: HIRA)