Administrative and Cultural Affairs Committee: "No substantive content such as consignment in the agreement"
Province: "Impossible to sign a consignment agreement before the hospital is built"
The plan to establish a general hospital in Naepo New City, promoted by the Chungnam Provincial Government, has once again hit a snag. The land acquisition plan for the hospital failed to pass the standing committee of the provincial council.
This is the second time since the plan was postponed in February. Despite Governor Kim Tae-heum expressing strong determination to establish the hospital, the council has once again blocked the plan, intensifying the confrontation between the two sides.
According to the province on the 15th, the Administrative and Cultural Affairs Committee of the provincial council decided the previous day not to submit the "2025 First Occasional Shared Property Management Plan" to the plenary session.
This management plan includes the province's intention to purchase 34,214 square meters of land designated for medical facilities in the new city from the Chungnam Development Corporation.
Previously, Governor Kim stated at the Health Day commemorative event on the 7th, "Discussions on the hospital project with one of the nation's Big 5 hospitals have made significant progress," leading to expectations that the plan would pass during this extraordinary session.
However, the provincial council rejected the plan, arguing that the agreement signed between the province and the hospital lacked substantive content such as consignment operation details.
Lee Hyunsook, a member of the People Power Party, pointed out, "Since the hospital business is not considered profitable, even university hospitals are reluctant to participate. Nevertheless, if you want to push for the hospital's establishment, you should at least present a consignment agreement."
She added, "Since the province has to make a large-scale investment, it needs to be reconsidered."
Jeon Ikhyun, a member of the Democratic Party, also commented, "The project faces operational difficulties in various aspects, and over 200 billion KRW will have to be invested in the long term, so it should be handled more cautiously."
In response, the province argued that it is impossible to sign a consignment agreement at this stage because there are no assets to consign yet.
A provincial official stated, "What hospital would agree to a consignment for a facility that hasn't even been completed? Saying that the land purchase cannot be approved because there is no consignment agreement is essentially the same as saying not to build the hospital at all."
Another provincial official remarked, "Last time, they postponed the plan because there was no agreement, and now that we've brought the agreement, they oppose it, saying it lacks substantive content."
Meanwhile, on the same day, the Health, Welfare, and Environment Committee passed the "Agreement on Consignment of Public Institution for Construction of Medical Facilities in Naepo New City," which approves the province's hospital consignment plan.
The Naepo General Hospital was originally planned as a regional base hospital with more than 500 beds, including an emergency medical center and a severe cardiovascular center, after Myongji Medical Foundation signed a land sale contract with Chungnam Development Corporation in May 2022.
However, the project was halted when Myongji Foundation failed to pay the interim payment for the land purchase last year, prompting the development corporation to notify contract termination.
In response, the province shifted its approach to directly purchasing the land, building the hospital itself, and then entrusting its operation to a major hospital through a consignment operation system.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
