Gimhae City in the 8th Elected Term Progressing Steadily with Preparations for Establishing a 'Public Medical Center'

The 8th term of the civil administration in Gimhae City, Gyeongnam, is preparing a blueprint for the establishment of a public medical center, a major campaign pledge.

On the afternoon of the 6th, the city held a kickoff briefing session for the feasibility and private investment eligibility study for the establishment of the Gimhae Public Medical Center in the seminar room on the 3rd floor of the city health center.

The commencement briefing session for the feasibility study and private investment eligibility investigation for the establishment of Gyeongnam Gimhae Public Medical Center is being held.

According to the city, 20 people attended the briefing session, including Vice Mayor Kim Seok-ki and members of the Public-Private Cooperation Promotion Committee.

The Public-Private Cooperation Promotion Committee consists of 17 members, including provincial and city council members, experts from public medical institutions and academia, and representatives from health care and civic organizations. It operates under a co-chair system with Vice Mayor Kim and Masang-hyeok, chairman of the Gyeongnam Medical Association’s Public Medical Measures Committee.

Before the kickoff briefing, the appointed committee members received their certificates and will serve as advisors for the establishment of the public medical center.

The establishment of the Gimhae Public Medical Center is a pledge project of the 8th term governor of Gyeongnam Province and the mayor of Gimhae City. The city signed a contract with the Korea Health Industry Development Institute in February and is currently conducting the study.

Previously, in May 2021, a research project on the “Necessity and Expansion Plan for Public Medical Introduction in Gimhae City” was conducted, which concluded that the establishment of a public medical center was necessary. In October of the same year, a report meeting and seminar on the establishment of a public hospital were held.

The study cost is 243 million KRW, matched 1:1 by provincial and city funds.

The kickoff briefing was led by Lim Young-yi, the head researcher of the Medical Service Innovation Division at the Korea Health Industry Development Institute, focusing on the basic environmental analysis of Eastern Gyeongnam, future directions, and schedules.

The researcher will review ▲ basic environmental analysis of the region ▲ analysis of candidate sites for location ▲ operation and funding plans for the public medical center ▲ review of the establishment and operation entities ▲ feasibility study and result derivation ▲ execution of private investment eligibility investigation ▲ support and consultation for business plan application.

Experts pointed out that Gimhae City, with a population of 540,000, lacks hospitals with more than 300 beds capable of treating severe patients and has no public medical institutions, resulting in higher medical expenses for patients compared to other areas.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, some citizens complained, “Because there was no infectious disease specialized hospital in Gimhae, patients had to be transferred to public medical institutions in Jeonbuk, Chungnam, and Chungbuk for hospitalization and treatment.”

The city plans to accelerate administrative procedures related to the establishment based on the results once the study is completed around February next year.

Vice Mayor Kim said, “I believe today’s event is the first step toward establishing a public medical center that can effectively respond to infectious diseases and emergencies and guarantee a healthy future for citizens,” adding, “Please join us in pooling wisdom to prepare a plan for the establishment of the Gimhae Public Medical Center that suits the conditions of Eastern Gyeongnam.”

Mayor Hong Tae-yong said, “We painfully experienced the hardship of not having a dedicated hospital during the COVID-19 crisis,” and added, “Starting with this kickoff briefing, we will prepare a feasible and reasonable plan for establishing a public medical center that fits the local conditions.”

He continued, “We will definitely establish the Gimhae Public Medical Center to expand public medical services and build a medical safety net in Eastern Gyeongnam to ensure citizens’ health rights.”

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