Seobusan Medical Center Construction Project Gains Momentum... Busan City Selects Preferred Negotiation Partner

Promoting Implementation Negotiations with (Tentative Name) Seobusan Healing Planet

Resolving Construction Cost Shortfalls and Leading to Increased Funding Limit

On the 14th, the city of Busan held a 'Report Meeting on the Selection Results of the Preferred Negotiation Partner for the Seobu Busan Medical Center' at the planned construction site and announced that 'Seobusan Healing Planet' was selected as the preferred negotiation partner for the Seobu Busan Medical Center construction project.

Seobusan Healing Planet passed the first (PQ) evaluation in April and submitted its business plan on July 31. As a result of the business plan evaluation, it scored 780.90 out of 1,000 points, earning selection as the preferred negotiation partner.

The Korea Health Industry Development Institute evaluated the business plan. The institute explained that the proposal by Seobusan Healing Planet met the disqualification criteria for technical and financial fields and satisfied the performance requirements set by the city.

The construction project for Seobu Busan Medical Center, which has been promoted since 2015, gained momentum after Mayor Park Hyungjoon took office, overcoming various challenges and entering the main phase.

Last March, the city signed a 'Business Agreement for the Early Construction of Seobu Busan Medical Center' with Saha-gu and completed the purchase of land owned by Saha-gu this year.

Despite the challenging situation of repeated failures in public sector construction bids due to the sharp rise in construction costs, the city actively worked to secure an increase in the project cost ceiling from the Ministry of Economy and Finance. As a result, following the previous recruitment of project implementers, the city achieved the selection of the preferred negotiation partner.

When the project implementer recruitment for the Seobu Busan Medical Center construction project failed in October 2023 due to insufficient project funds, the city actively consulted with the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and persistently persuaded the Korea Development Institute (KDI) of the need for an increase in the ceiling. As a result, an additional 7.841 billion KRW, equivalent to 10% of the existing ceiling, was secured.

With the increased ceiling of 85.841 billion KRW, the city revised the basic facility business plan, recruited a project implementer, and with the selection of the preferred negotiation partner, is now able to look forward to the start of construction.

The city plans to proceed with negotiations with the preferred negotiation partner, go through all necessary procedures such as executing the implementation agreement and obtaining approval for the implementation plan, and begin construction in 2026 with completion scheduled for 2028.

Seobu Busan Medical Center, which will be promoted as a lease-type private investment project, will be a general hospital with a total floor area of 32,445 square meters, a site area of 14,381.5 square meters, and 300 beds across one basement floor and six above-ground floors.

The hospital will operate as a 24-hour regional emergency medical institution, focusing on essential general hospital departments and specialties with high local demand.

The city plans to introduce the latest medical equipment such as CT and MRI, solidifying its position as a key public medical institution in the region.

Mayor Park Hyungjoon, National Assembly member Lee Sungkwon, and Saha-gu District Mayor Lee Gapjun attended the report meeting. After receiving the report on the selection of the preferred negotiation partner, they discussed strategies for negotiations and the implementation agreement, working together to ensure the construction process proceeds in a timely manner with Seobu Busan citizens as the top priority.

Mayor Park Hyungjoon stated, "After nearly a decade of slow progress, the Seobu Busan Medical Center project has finally gained momentum with last year's business agreement with Saha-gu, this year's land acquisition, and now the selection of the preferred negotiation partner. This project is a long-standing wish of local residents to address the healthcare gap between eastern and western Busan, strengthen the public health system, and respond to infectious disease crises. As a key public medical institution in Seobu Busan, we will do our utmost to complete the medical center by 2028, contributing to the establishment of a '15-minute medical city' and a robust medical safety net."

Busan City Hall.