Gyeongbuk Province and Gyeongbuk National University Hospital Sign Agreement to Strengthen Public Healthcare Cooperation

Pledging Cooperation to Revitalize Operations of Pohang, Gimcheon, and Andong Medical Centers

Gyeongbuk Provincial Government Office.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Gwi-yeol] On the 5th, Gyeongbuk Province signed a business agreement with Kyungpook National University Hospital in the provincial government conference room to strengthen the public health medical cooperation system.

The signing ceremony was attended by Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province; Lee Dal-hee, Deputy Governor for Economy of Gyeongbuk Province; Kim Yong-rim, Director of Kyungpook National University Hospital; and Lee Kyung-soo, Director of Gyeongbuk Public Health Medical Support Group.

On this day, both parties agreed to mutually cooperate to strengthen essential medical services within the province to eliminate health inequalities and to revitalize the operation of local medical centers to provide high-quality public medical services.

Gyeongbuk Province is the only metropolitan local government without a tertiary general hospital, ranking 16th nationwide with only 1.4 doctors per 1,000 people.

Additionally, the treatable mortality rate caused by inadequate access to essential medical services is the fourth highest in the country, and the treatment rates for stomach, colorectal, liver, and lung cancers among the five major cancers in the province are below 10%, placing it at the lowest level nationwide.

Kyungpook National University Hospital, a national university hospital that has led the advancement of medicine in South Korea and been responsible for the health of local residents for over 100 years, has played a significant role in treating severe COVID-19 patients during the pandemic.

It is also establishing a regionally comprehensive medical system as a public health medical institution.

The agreement includes provisions aimed at strengthening the public health medical service cooperation system, such as ▲ enhancing essential medical coverage and improving conditions in medically vulnerable areas, discovering policies and deriving implementation tasks for regional balanced development ▲ cooperating in response to national disasters like COVID-19 ▲ mutual cooperation to revitalize the operation of Gyeongbuk Province’s local medical centers.

Gyeongbuk Province plans to support an annual labor cost of 6 billion KRW to secure 20 specialists in essential medical departments that must be guaranteed, considering the regional characteristics and conditions of the three medical centers.

Furthermore, a total budget of 93 billion KRW will be invested over the three-year agreement period, including 25 billion KRW annually for facility and equipment modernization and functional enhancement for specialization of the medical centers.

Through this, the province aims to provide high-quality medical services by securing excellent essential medical personnel, activate linked treatment with Kyungpook National University Hospital in cases of severe patients such as emergencies and infectious diseases, and achieve management improvement effects through the enhancement of the medical center operation system.

After the agreement, Gyeongbuk Province plans to proceed step-by-step with feasibility studies on entrusted operation, consultations with the provincial council and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, amendments to related ordinances, and the conclusion of entrustment contracts for the concrete implementation of mutual cooperation matters.

Governor Lee Cheol-woo emphasized, “The entrusted operation of local medical centers with Kyungpook National University Hospital started from the concern to solve the shortage of essential medical personnel, and I believe this will be a revolutionary change in public healthcare for the health of the residents in the future.” He added, “In the mid to long term, we plan to resolve fundamental issues such as Gyeongbuk’s vulnerable medical environment and essential medical services one by one by attracting a branch campus of Kyungpook National University.”

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