Gwangju City Accelerates Efforts to Establish Gwangju Medical Center

Launch of Public-Private-Government Establishment Promotion Committee... Composed of 15 Members from Medical, Labor, and Academic Sectors

Kim Jong-hyo, Deputy Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, is presiding over the meeting after attending the launch ceremony of the Gwangju Medical Center Establishment Promotion Committee and the 1st regular meeting held in the city hall's medium conference room on the afternoon of the 22nd, taking a commemorative photo with the committee members. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] The establishment of Gwangju Medical Center, which Gwangju Metropolitan City is promoting to protect the lives and safety of citizens from infectious diseases and emergency/disaster situations, is being put into full swing.

Gwangju Metropolitan City launched the "Gwangju Metropolitan City Medical Center Establishment Promotion Committee," composed of 15 members including medical, labor, and academic experts, with Kim Jong-hyo, Deputy Mayor of Gwangju, Shin Su-jeong, Chair of the City Council Environment and Welfare Committee, and Kim Young-jin, former director of Chonnam National University Hospital, as co-chairs, and held its first meeting on the 22nd.

The event proceeded with reports on the progress of the Gwangju Medical Center, election of the promotion committee executives, and discussions on the scale and direction of the Gwangju Metropolitan City Medical Center.

The Establishment Promotion Committee will actively engage in advisory roles regarding various matters related to the establishment of the medical center, as well as external cooperation efforts to secure government exemption from preliminary feasibility studies and national funding.

Gwangju City plans to reflect the discussions of the promotion committee on the medical center’s scale, site, and medical departments in the establishment process and ongoing feasibility studies, and will also conduct public discussions targeting citizens during this process.

Meanwhile, as the importance of regional base medical institutions has increased for building an essential public healthcare system and strengthening the regional public healthcare system, Gwangju City has been promoting the establishment of the "Gwangju Metropolitan City Medical Center" since 2020 through public-private joint forums, visits to government ministries, and the commencement of feasibility study projects.

The establishment of the medical center considers four aspects: "medical resource supply," "completeness of the regional public healthcare system," "elimination of medical utilization disparities and strengthening of the medical safety net," and "preventive chronic disease management projects," with a focus on ultimately securing the health rights of Gwangju citizens.

Through discussions by the Establishment Promotion Committee and feasibility studies, Gwangju City will finalize the medical center’s site, scale, and project costs, and plans to submit a request for exemption from the preliminary feasibility study to central government ministries such as the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Economy and Finance around September to expedite the establishment of the medical center.

Deputy Mayor Kim Jong-hyo said, “Through the establishment of the Gwangju Medical Center, we plan to enhance our capacity to respond to disaster situations and large-scale infectious diseases, and establish health management and treatment connectivity for local residents,” adding, “We will do our best to build a better public health medical system to protect and safeguard the lives of citizens.”

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