"Are you saying women shouldn’t be hospitalized even when they are sick?" Backlash forces plan to scrap mixed-gender wards to be dropped

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[Financial News] MOHW has effectively withdrawn its plan to revise the Enforcement Rule of the Medical Service Act and will keep the current regulation in place. The ministry backed down two days after announcing the draft, as concerns over patient privacy and safety sparked a wave of criticism.
In a press release distributed on the 31st of last month, MOHW said, "We will revise the draft by fully reflecting public opinions raised during the notice period for the revision to the Enforcement Rule of the Medical Service Act," and added, "The rule requiring separate male and female hospital rooms will remain unchanged."
Earlier, on the 27th of last month, MOHW had announced a partial revision to the Enforcement Rule of the Medical Service Act. The draft would delete Article 35-2, which states that "hospital rooms shall be operated separately for men and women," and had originally been open for public comment until the 6th of the following month.
Under the current law, violations of the rule on separate male and female hospital rooms can lead to administrative penalties, including a first corrective order and, for a second offense, a 15-day suspension of business. The ministry had believed hospitals would separate patients voluntarily even without legal compulsion.
However, as soon as the draft was made public, criticism erupted. People said, "It is absurd, even same-sex patients can feel uncomfortable," "Are you saying women should not be hospitalized even when they are sick?" and "General wards could be run as mixed-gender wards without any restraint."
MOHW then explained in a press release on the 29th of last month that it would abolish the legal obligation to separate male and female hospital rooms but restrict indiscriminate use through guidelines. Still, the criticism did not subside, and on the 31st, two days later, the ministry officially reversed its plan to abolish the rule.
Under the government’s revised plan, the basic principle that hospital rooms at medical institutions should be operated separately by sex will remain in place.
However, MOHW decided to create a new exception allowing mixed-gender occupancy only in intensive care units and in "double rooms" used by spouses or direct family members.
The move is intended to bridge the gap between reality and the law, as most intensive care units in hospitals are already operated without separating men and women, and to ease the burden of family caregiving.
Shin Hyun-do, director of the Medical Institution Policy Division at MOHW, explained, "The idea was to apply the system flexibly only in exceptional situations that are truly necessary for patients, such as rooms for spouses, children, or families."
MOHW said, "If the revision is made as planned, the rule requiring separate male and female hospital rooms will remain in place, while regulations will be eased within a range that does not harm other patients when it is truly necessary for patient care."
sms@fnnews.com Sung Min-seo Reporter