Governor Kim Dongyeon: "People's Lives Come First... Namyangju Public Medical Center to Break Ground in 2028"

Construction of Namyangju Innovative Public Medical Center to Be Advanced by Two Years
Governor Kim Dongyeon Urges, "Let Us Join Forces for a 2028 Groundbreaking, Not 2030"
Northeastern Public Medical Center On-site Briefing Held at Ho-pyeong Py

The construction of the Namyangju Innovative Public Medical Center, a project being promoted by Gyeonggi Province, is expected to be advanced by two years from the original plan.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Dongyeon Kim is giving a greeting at the 'Northeastern Public Medical Center Establishment On-site Briefing' held on the 27th at the Ho-pyeong Pyeongnae Administrative Welfare Center in Namyangju. Photo by Jonggu Lee

Dongyeon Kim, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, who is currently conducting a field tour of local economies aboard the so-called "Daldal Bus" (meaning "Everywhere it goes, things change"), emphasized at the "Northeastern Public Medical Center Establishment On-site Briefing" held at the Ho-pyeong Pyeongnae Administrative Welfare Center in Namyangju on the 27th, "Let us join forces to break ground in 2028, not 2030."

The Namyangju Innovative Public Medical Center will be built on a 33,800-square-meter site designated for comprehensive medical facilities in the Baekbong District of Namyangju. The center will have more than 300 beds and will provide essential medical services such as pediatrics, obstetrics, and emergency care, as well as caregiving medical services. Excluding the cost of land acquisition, the project will require approximately 15.91 billion won, and will be promoted through the BTL (Build-Transfer-Lease) model. Construction is scheduled to begin after 2030, with completion expected in 2033.

Before inspecting the site for the Namyangju Innovative Public Medical Center, Governor Kim held the "Northeastern Public Medical Center Establishment On-site Briefing" at the Ho-pyeong Pyeongnae Administrative Welfare Center.

About 70 people attended the briefing, including Governor Kim, Namyangju Mayor Gwangdeok Joo, National Assembly Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee Chair Minhee Choi, Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly members, healthcare professionals, and local residents.

In his greeting at the briefing, Governor Kim stated, "Gyeonggi Province and the cities and counties of the northeastern region have worked together to establish an ambitious plan to build a public medical center for the 1.1 million residents of Namyangju and neighboring Gapyeong, Guri, and Yangpyeong. As a result, Namyangju has been selected as the site for the public medical center."

Governor Kim said, "It would normally take about five years from early next year to break ground, but to shorten this period, two things need to happen simultaneously," suggesting either an exemption from the preliminary feasibility study or improvements to the system, as well as the rapid promotion of the BTL process.

Governor Kim explained, "If we secure an exemption from the preliminary feasibility study, we can save about a year and a half, and if we expedite the BTL process, we can save nearly another year. If things go according to plan, we could shorten the period by about one and a half to two and a half years." He urged, "Let us join forces to break ground in 2028, not 2030," to which the attendees responded with enthusiastic applause.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Dongyeon Kim (center), Namyangju Mayor Gwangdeok Joo, and National Assembly Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee Chair Minhee Choi visited the site planned for the Namyangju Innovative Public Medical Center on the 27th and received explanations from Namyangju city officials. Photo by Jonggu Lee

Governor Kim, referencing his experience as Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs during the Moon Jae-in administration, where he personally promoted exemptions from preliminary feasibility studies, urged, "Since the government's policy stance is 'people first,' a swift decision on the exemption is necessary."

Governor Kim mentioned that in January 2019, during his tenure as Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs under the Moon Jae-in administration, he personally promoted two preliminary feasibility study exemptions for each metropolitan city and province nationwide, and again stressed, "Since the government's policy stance is 'people first,' a swift decision on the exemption is necessary."

Governor Kim also shared that he recently met with Yuncheol Koo, the current Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, who was his junior colleague at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and discussed the issue of the preliminary feasibility study. He said, "Medical services should not be judged by economic efficiency. This is a matter of people's lives, health, and safety. Since the new government's policy direction is to put people before economic efficiency, to put it bluntly, I hope we can move quickly on this exemption."

Governor Kim pledged, "With Chairperson Minhee Choi and Mayor Gwangdeok Joo playing major roles, I will do my utmost, working together, to shorten the timeline."

After the briefing, Governor Kim, Mayor Joo, Assemblywoman Choi, and a delegation of local residents toured the planned site for the medical center aboard the "Daldal Bus" (meaning "Everywhere it goes, things change").

When Governor Kim remarked, "While mayors have previously joined the Daldal Bus in Pyeongtaek and Yangju, this is the first time a National Assembly member has joined," Chairperson Choi responded, "'Daldal Tour' is a fitting name. The governor's image is sweet and gentle, so it suits him perfectly."

During the site visit, when journalists accompanying the group asked about the possibility of a preliminary feasibility study exemption, Governor Kim replied, "One of the reasons President Jaemyung Lee entered politics was the issue of public healthcare, specifically the Seongnam Medical Center. While it is not an easy task, I will work with the President, the central government, the National Assembly, and local governments to ensure that the medical center can break ground and be completed as soon as possible."

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dongyeon, Namyangju Mayor Joo Gwangdeok, and National Assembly Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee Chairperson Choi Minhui visited the planned site for the Namyangju Innovative Public Medical Center on the 27th and spoke with local residents. Photo by Lee Jonggu

Governor Kim then visited a free meal service center near Pyeongnae-Hopyeong Station, where he volunteered to serve meals and communicated with local senior citizens.

At the site, 40 volunteers from four collaborative volunteer organizations-including the Neighbors Love Sharing Volunteer Association, Cheonga Volunteer Group, Cheonma Culture and Arts Group, Peace Guard Volunteer Group, and the Gyeonggi Province Youth Volunteer Group-joined approximately 300 senior citizens who were recipients of the meal service.

The Neighbors Love Sharing Volunteer Association has been providing free meals and performance volunteer services to senior citizens and people with disabilities every Wednesday at lunchtime for 17 years since 2008.