▲ President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a meeting to discuss medical reform on July 22, 2026. (Yonhap)

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SEOUL, July 22 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday pointed to persistent disparities in health care, particularly in regional and essential medical services, calling for systemic reform to address the issue.

The president made the remarks during a meeting to discuss medical reform aimed at enhancing regional and essential medical services and strengthening public health care.

The discussion brought together around 100 participants, including medical workers, representatives from patient and labor groups, and government officials, as the government seeks to reduce health care disparities between urban and regional residents and improve regional, essential and public medical services.

"We still have a long way to go. So-called health care disparities continue to worsen, while significant problems persist in regional, essential and public health care," Lee said.

The president said that a "systematic" reform is needed to address problems in public and essential health care, instructing officials to devise health care policies that place greater responsibility on the government.

The meeting comes amid persistent disparities in the availability and quality of medical services between urban and regional areas. Pregnant women in remote regions are often forced to travel long distances to give birth due to shortages of doctors, particularly in essential but less profitable specialties, such as obstetrics.

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