INN prescribing bill may be resubmitted to April subcommittee

Democratic Party of Korea “speed up legislation before local elections” vs. Korean Medical Association “will not hesitate to mobilize all members”….standoff escalates

Byung-hoon So, Chair of the Health and Welfare Committee

소병훈 보건복지위원장

Attention is mounting within the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors on whether a bill mandating limited international nonproprietary name (INN) prescribing for essential medicines or drugs with unstable supply will be reviewed by the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee’s legislative subcommittee in April.

The bill was included on the agenda of the Health and Welfare Committee’s legislative subcommittee last March, but did not get a chance to be reviewed as it was pushed back by other bills.

On the 3rd, lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea have emphasized the need to convene the subcommittee in April to discuss bills under their purview that were not reviewed last month.

As it is highly unlikely that the subcommittee will convene in May, just one month before the June 3 local elections, the Democratic Party of Korea members of the Welfare Committee saw a strong need to expedite the review of bills this month.

Currently, the Health and Welfare Committee is led by Rep. Byung-hoon So (Gwangju-gap, Gyeonggi Province; third-term), who took over as the new chair following the resignation of former Chair Rep. Ju-min Park, who stepped down to run in the Democratic Party’s primary for the Seoul mayoral race.

Accordingly, Chair Byung-hoon So, Democratic Party Executive Secretary Soo-jin Lee, and People Power Party Executive Secretary Mi-ae Kim are expected to begin discussions on the schedule for the April subcommittee meeting.

Once the subcommittee meeting is confirmed, the bill mandating the limited use of INN prescribing, which was not reviewed last month, is highly likely to be placed on the agenda.

Last month, on the day of the subcommittee meeting, the Korean Medical Association (KMA) held a “Rally to Block INN Prescriptions” on the steps in front of the National Assembly Main Building to pressure the Health and Welfare Committee.

At that time, KMA President Taek-woo Kim made it clear that the association would take strong collective action if the bill were to be formally introduced.

KMA President Taek-woo Kim led the rally to block the INN prescribing bill on the steps in front of the National Assembly Main Building on the 11th of last month.

In particular, President Kim maintains a hardline stance that the bill must not be tabled at the April subcommittee meeting. The KMA is currently using the threat of a general doctors’ rally as leverage to block the review of the limited mandatory INN prescribing bill.

However, the Democratic Party argues that the INN prescribing bill is part of President Lee’s campaign pledge and a national policy agenda adopted after his inauguration. They maintain that legislation is necessary to improve public access to medicines.

A committee official stated, “The Democratic Party is calling for the need to convene the April subcommittee, but whether it will actually take place has not yet been finalized. It will be determined soon following consultations between the ruling and opposition party floor leaders, taking into account the schedule for the June 3 local elections.”

There are three bills related to limited INN prescribing currently pending in the National Assembly: an amendment to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act proposed by Rep. Yoon Kim of the Democratic Party of Korea, and amendments to the Medical Service Act and Pharmaceutical Affairs Act proposed by Rep. Jong-tae Jang of the same party.