The decision to discipline Thuan was issued by the Secretariat at a meeting on 16/9, following a recommendation from the Central Inspection Committee.

Expulsion from the party is the most severe form of disciplinary action for party members, surpassing reprimand, warning, and dismissal.

The Secretariat concluded that Tran Van Thuan, Deputy Minister of Health and former director of K Hospital, showed degradation in political ideology, ethics, and lifestyle. He violated party regulations and state laws in carrying out his assigned duties, in preventing corruption, waste, and negativity, and in breaching rules for party members and their responsibility to set an example.

Thuan's violations are considered to have caused "very serious consequences, public outrage, and a very negative impact on the reputation of the party organization, locality, agency, and working unit".

Alongside his expulsion from the party, the Secretariat recommended that relevant authorities implement administrative disciplinary measures against Thuan, aligning them with the party's decision.

Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan at a meeting in 5/. Photo: MOH

On 6/9, the Prime Minister temporarily suspended Thuan from his positions as Deputy Minister of Health and chairman of the National Medical Council, pending a decision from competent authorities.

He was arrested and detained on 2/9 by the Police Department for Corruption, Economic, and Smuggling Crimes (C03) under the Ministry of Public Security on charges of "receiving bribes".

In a case at Viet My Medical Investment Joint Stock Company over a month prior, C03 initiated legal proceedings and detained Bui Chan Phuong, former chairman of the Board of Directors of Viet My Medical Investment Company, along with two subordinates, Ha Van Nam, director, and Tran Thi Hong Hanh, head of accounting. They are being investigated for "smuggling" and "violating accounting regulations causing serious consequences".

Viet My Medical Investment Company, established in 2007, saw Phuong holding 90% of its shares. Public bidding data shows that since 2018, the company has won hundreds of bidding packages with a total value of thousands of billions of dong.

C03 initially determined that Phuong established and operated businesses in Vietnam, Singapore, and Hong Kong to buy, resell, and inflate the prices of medical equipment and pharmaceuticals before importing them into Vietnam. Most goods were marked up before being sold to domestic medical facilities, leading to illicit profits, budget losses, and adverse effects on patient rights.

C03 alleges that during the import of medical equipment, Phuong also exploited import licenses issued by the Ministry of Health for main equipment to declare accompanying equipment, thereby bringing other devices into Vietnam unlawfully.

Thuan, 56 years old, is a professor of medicine and holds a doctorate in oncology. He is recognized as one of Vietnam's leading cancer specialists, having dedicated over 20 years to clinical practice before transitioning into management roles.

He served for many years at K Hospital and the Cancer Research Institute before becoming director of K Hospital in 2016. He also held positions as director of the National Cancer Institute, chairman of the Vietnam Young Physicians' Association, and director of the Bright Tomorrow Cancer Patient Support Fund. Since 4/2020, he has served as Deputy Minister of Health and chairman of the National Medical Council.

According to the Minister of Health's assignment in 10/2025, Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan directly oversaw medical examination and treatment, rehabilitation, medical and forensic psychiatric examination, blood transfusion safety, the application and development of new techniques in medical examination and treatment, and human organ and tissue donation and transplantation.

He was also tasked with directing central cadre healthcare, health activities for major party and state conferences, international health cooperation, the operations of the National Medical Council, and coordination with the Vietnam Red Cross Society.

Vu Tuan