Court Rules "Cancellation of Jeju For-Profit Hospital Establishment Permit is Lawful"

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] A court ruling has been made that the cancellation of the establishment permit for Nokji International Hospital (hereinafter Nokji Hospital), the first for-profit hospital in Korea, was lawful.

On the 20th, the Administrative Division 1 of Jeju District Court (Chief Judge Kim Hyunryong) ruled against the plaintiff in the 'Cancellation Lawsuit of Foreign Medical Institution Establishment Permit' filed by Nokji Jeju Healthcare Town Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China's Nokji Group, against Jeju Province.

Earlier, on December 5, 2018, Jeju Province granted a conditional permit to Nokji Jeju to operate Nokji Hospital exclusively for foreign medical tourists, excluding domestic patients. However, since Nokji Jeju did not open the hospital within three months after the conditional establishment permit, Jeju Province canceled the establishment permit in April 2019 after a hearing procedure.

The Medical Service Act stipulates that if business does not commence within three months from the date of establishment permit without justifiable reasons, the permit can be canceled.

However, on this day, the court postponed the ruling on the 'Cancellation Request Lawsuit of Foreign Medical Institution Establishment Permit Conditions' filed by Nokji Jeju, which argued that the condition restricting treatment of domestic patients in granting the establishment permit for Nokji Hospital was unfair.

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