Seosuwon’s 20-Year Long-Awaited Project 'General Hospital' Breaks Ground in May Next Year... 640-Bed Capacity

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] A general hospital with 640 beds will be established in the Seo-Suwon area of Gyeonggi Province. This is a visible achievement of Suwon City's 20 years of efforts to improve the quality of medical services for residents in the Seo-Suwon area.

Suwon City announced on the 30th that it gave final approval on the 28th of this month to the hospital establishment plan submitted in May by Deoksan Medical Foundation, a medical corporation promoting the construction of a general hospital in the Seo-Suwon area. Accordingly, Deoksan Medical Foundation will begin the first phase of construction in May next year.

Earlier, in June last year, Deoksan Medical Foundation requested Suwon City to review the general hospital construction project within the Gosaek 2 District Unit Planning Area. In response, Suwon City held a joint review committee that integrated traffic impact assessment, landscape, and architectural plans, and conditionally approved the review proposal.

Following the hospital construction approval, Deoksan Medical Foundation will build a general hospital with a total floor area of 93,770㎡, four basement floors and ten above-ground floors, and 636 beds at 894-27 Gosaek-dong, Gwonseon-gu (opposite Suwon Western Police Station). Once the Seo-Suwon general hospital opens, it will be the third largest general hospital in the Suwon area by number of beds, following Ajou University Hospital (1,172 beds) and Catholic University St. Vincent's Hospital (888 beds).

The hospital construction will proceed in two phases. Phase 1 construction will start in May next year with 417 beds and aims to open in March 2024. Phase 2 construction will have 219 beds and is scheduled for completion in March 2027.

The opening of the Seo-Suwon general hospital has been a long-cherished project for Seo-Suwon residents. Residents in this area have experienced many inconveniences as all general hospitals with more than 300 beds, such as Catholic University St. Vincent's Hospital, Dongsuwon Hospital (Paldal-gu), and Ajou University Hospital (Yeongtong-gu), are located in the East Suwon area.

In particular, Suwon City has been striving to attract a general hospital to the Seo-Suwon area for over 20 years but had little success. Therefore, Mayor Yeom Tae-young designated the 'Seo-Suwon General Hospital Attraction Project' as one of the 100 major promises during the 6th local government administration.

However, the Seo-Suwon general hospital attraction project was the only 'pending' project among the '100 major promises to citizens' by January 2018, the last year of the 6th local government administration. After persistent efforts, in March 2018, Suwon City and Deoksan Medical Foundation signed a 'business agreement for the establishment of the Seo-Suwon general hospital,' and in January last year, Suwon City formed a task force (TF) to support the construction and opening of the general hospital, making the third general hospital with 630 beds a reality.

Deoksan Medical Foundation plans to introduce a regional emergency medical center facility in the Seo-Suwon general hospital and actively promote efforts to revitalize the local economy by involving local companies in the hospital construction.

A city official expressed expectations, saying, "Once the Seo-Suwon general hospital opens, residents in the Seo-Suwon area will be able to receive higher quality medical services," and added, "It will serve as a 'medical hub' not only for the Seo-Suwon area but also for the southwestern region of Gyeonggi Province."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.