‘Island Residents Are Also Our Citizens’ Rep. Kim Won-i Advocates for Installation of Doctor Helicopter Pads in Island Areas

Minister of Health and Welfare Receives Firm Commitment to "Install Quickly"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seunghyun Jeong] Kim Won, a member of the National Assembly (Democratic Party of Korea·Mokpo City), urged the prompt installation of helicopter landing pads to protect the golden time for emergency patients in island areas of Jeonnam during the Health and Welfare Committee plenary session at the National Assembly on the 16th.

Representative Kim Won, expressing concerns about the poor medical environment in island regions at the plenary session. Photo by Office of Representative Kim Won

In response, Kwon Deok-cheol, Minister of Health and Welfare, also agreed and gave a positive answer, saying, "We will speed up."

Through his inquiry, Assemblyman Kim stated, “In the past three years, the operation record of doctor helicopters in the Jeonnam region is 1,270 cases, of which 887 were transport cases. The remaining 30% of emergency patients could not use doctor helicopters due to reasons such as bad weather and lack of landing pads,” adding, “The poor helicopter landing and takeoff facilities in island areas can cause accidents at any time, so it is urgent to install dedicated helicopter landing pads to ensure the rapid transport and safety of patients.”

Assemblyman Kim continued, “The condition for national funding support for helicopter landing pad construction projects is inhabited islands with a population of 100 or more. Among the 272 inhabited islands in Jeonnam, 110 islands meet this criterion, and among them, 24 places still do not have helicopter landing pads,” emphasizing, “More prompt measures are needed to protect the golden time for emergency patients in island areas, to safeguard our valuable asset, the doctor helicopter, and also to protect the Coast Guard helicopters.”

Additionally, Assemblyman Kim also called for measures regarding inhabited islands with fewer than 100 residents, which are not included in the national funding support target.

In response, Minister Kwon agreed with Assemblyman Kim’s inquiry and replied, “The Ministry of Health and Welfare will speed up a bit more,” adding, “We will actively cooperate with local governments to install the facilities as soon as possible.”

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