Seoul Subway 'Medical Zone' Project Wins Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Proactive Administration

Efforts for Regulatory Reform with Related Agencies Including Board of Audit and Inspection, Office for Government Policy Coordination, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Seoul City... 'Medical Zone' Opened Last July

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul Metro announced on the 28th that its "Medical Zone" project won the Prime Minister's Award (local public enterprises category) at the 2022 Active Administration Best Practices Competition held at the Government Sejong Complex on the 24th.

A total of 292 organizations, including central government ministries, local governments, public institutions, and local public enterprises, participated in this competition. Among 540 excellent cases, 17 cases that passed the preliminary round competed in the final round.

The "Medical Zone" project is an initiative Seoul Metro has been promoting since 2017 to attract clinics and pharmacies within subway stations to enhance citizens' medical welfare and increase profitability. Although it faced controversies such as differences in legal interpretations between the Urban Railroad Act and the Building Act and the necessity of a building management ledger, it received high praise for achieving regulatory reform through legislation by means of prior consulting by the Board of Audit and Inspection, cooperation and public discussion with various government ministries including the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the National Assembly, and the City Council.

Seoul Metro then accelerated the Medical Zone project, and five years after initiating regulatory reform activities, broke ground on the project in July 2022. Operations began on July 14 at Yeoksam Station and Jongno 3-ga Station, and have since expanded to Hapjeong Station, Myeonmok Station, and others. Currently, the Medical Zone is established in six stations, generating an annual ancillary business revenue of 1.1 billion KRW.

Lee Eun-gi, Head of the New Growth Headquarters, said, “I am pleased that the years of active administrative efforts to successfully implement the Medical Zone project have been highly evaluated,” and added, “Going forward, Seoul Metro will continue to take active administrative measures to provide better services.”

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