Governor Kim Dong-yeon Tours Namyangju Innovative Public Medical Center Site on 'Daldal Bus' for Citizens' Economic Journey

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Kim Gapdong] Governor Kim Dong-yeon of Gyeonggi Province, currently conducting a citizens' economic tour aboard the so-called ‘Daldal Bus’ (which changes wherever it goes), visited the designated site for the innovative public medical center in Namyangju on the 27th. The site is planned to be constructed with a capacity of over 300 beds on a 33,800-square-meter comprehensive medical facility lot in Baekbong district, Hopyeong-dong, Namyangju.

Prior to the inspection, Governor Kim held an ‘Northeastern Public Medical Center Establishment On-Site Briefing’ at the Hopyeong-Pyeongnae Administrative Welfare Center. The briefing was attended by approximately 70 people including Governor Kim Dong-yeon, Namyangju Mayor Ju Gwang-deok, National Assembly member Choi Min-hee who chairs the Science, Technology, Information, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, provincial assembly members, healthcare experts, and local residents.

In his opening remarks at the briefing, Governor Kim said, “Gyeonggi Province and the cities and counties in the northeastern region have worked together to formulate an ambitious plan to establish a public medical center for 1.1 million residents in Namyangju and neighboring Gapyeong, Guri, and Yangpyeong, and as a result, Namyangju has been selected as the location for the public medical center.”

The Namyangju public medical center is also planned to provide care medical services in addition to essential medical functions such as pediatrics, obstetrics, and emergency care. Excluding land acquisition costs, approximately 159.1 billion won in project costs is estimated to be invested. Construction is scheduled to begin after 2030, with completion expected in 2033, and the project will be pursued as a BTL (Build-Transfer-Lease) project.

Regarding this, Governor Kim stated, “It will take approximately five years from early next year before we can break ground, but to shorten this five-year period, two approaches must work together,” presenting: ①exemption from preliminary feasibility studies or improvements to the feasibility study system, and ②rapid advancement of BTL projects.

In a pre-briefing conversation with participants, Governor Kim said, “The new administration is working hard to create a world where people can live better, including through establishing public medical centers. You must row when the tide comes in. Chairwoman Choi Min-hee and I are from the same political party, and though Mayor Ju Gwang-deok is not, let’s unite on this matter,” and both Representative Choi and Mayor Ju responded with applause.

After the briefing concluded, Mayor Ju, Chairwoman Choi, and citizen representatives boarded the Daldal Bus with Governor Kim Dong-yeon to visit the medical center construction site.

Subsequently, Governor Kim Dong-yeon served food from a tray at the Hopyeong-dong free meal center located under the Pyeongnae-Hopyeong Station bridge, volunteering to serve meals to elderly residents at their tables.

The site was attended by 40 volunteer workers from four collaborative volunteer organizations—the Neighbor Love Sharing Volunteer Association, Chongah Volunteer Group, Cheonma Culture and Arts Group, Peace-Keeping Volunteer Group, and Gyeonggi Province Youth Volunteer Group—as well as approximately 300 elderly people eligible for meals.

The Neighbor Love Sharing Volunteer Association has been providing free meals and cultural performances to elderly people and people with disabilities every Wednesday for 17 years since 2008.