Disability inclusion in health data systems and policy in Korea: time for action

Persons with disabilities experience significant health inequities globally, driven in part by the lack of disability-disaggregated data in national health surveillance systems. In Korea, despite having a well-established administrative infrastructure-most notably the Korean National Disability Registration System-disability-inclusive health data remain limited. The National Health Information Database, which links administrative and health insurance data, offers a rare example of integrated data enabling individual-level analysis by disability status, type, and severity. However, the absence of a legal mandate and limited policy recognition of disability inclusion have hindered the widespread use of disability identifiers across key national health datasets. Korea's experience illustrates both the potential and the limitations of relying solely on administrative definitions, which often fail to reflect the broader spectrum of disability outlined in international frameworks such as the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. To advance equity in health systems, countries must integrate disability into population-based data using standardized, functional definitions. This commentary emphasizes the need for both technical integration and a conceptual shift in how disability is defined, measured, and operationalized in health data systems.