한국 복지국가의 기원: 의료보험제도의 기원과 변화 = The Origins and Development of Medical Insurance in Korea

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper aims to explain the origins and development of medical insurance in Korea. Medical insurance determined the essential nature of the welfare state with accident, disability and retirement insurance. Medical insurance was legislated during the authoritarian regime of Park Chung Hee. Medical benefits during Chun`s authoritarian government were extended to cover the entire population in 1988. I argue that medical insurance was made by bureaucratic initiatives. Authoritarian regime had two purposes in initiating medical insurance. As Bismarck found the welfare state in Imperial Germany to buy the social peace, motive behind legislation of medical insurance was political. The Park government reformed medical insurance in 1976, recognizing that North Korea had provided national insurance. It was a part of regime competition with North Korea. However, universalism was weak because medical insurance benefits have been contributory from the beginning. Difficulties in recent reforms of medical insurance, highly controversial, reflect this institutional setup.