As the Ministry of Health and Welfare's selection of an advanced medical complex is scheduled for the end of this month, competition among local governments to attract the facility has intensified, with accusations of 'regional favoritism' and 'disregard for fair regional distribution' being raised strongly, drawing attention to the selection outcome.

In particular, Gyeonggi Province, which has belatedly stepped forward to attract the complex to the Gwanggyo New City, is being pushed back by the current government's stated goal of 'balanced national development,' sparking fierce backlash.

Since early this year, Daegu and North Gyeongsan Province, Yangsan in South Gyeongsan Province, Oseong in North Chungcheong Province, Wonju in Gangwon Province, and Daejeon have joined the competition for attracting the facility, engaging in fierce competition. Some regions are raising strong suspicions that the government is proceeding to favor certain areas, creating controversy.

Rep. Lim Young-ho of the Liberty Forward Party, whose constituency is based in Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province, stated on the 9th: "All heads of the four major institutions, including the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Planning and Evaluation, who select the evaluation panel, are from Daegu and North Gyeongsan Province, which raises suspicions that the evaluation panel may be structured unfavorably toward specific regions."

Rep. Lim further stated: "It is suspicious that the deadline for submitting materials for the complex was postponed from the original date of the 9th to the 16th as part of preliminary groundwork for selecting a specific region."

The Ministry of Welfare responded: "At the local government briefing session on the 11th of last month, Gyeonggi Province's Gwanggyo, Incheon's Songdo, South Chungcheong Province's Yellow Sea Economic Free Zone, and Yangsan in South Gyeongsan Province requested a postponement of the material submission deadline," explaining the reason for the change from the 9th to the 16th, and stated that such claims are excessive.

The Ministry of Welfare also said regarding the timing of the site selection: "We plan to confirm the final evaluation date by comprehensively considering data verification and progress," suggesting that the originally scheduled site selection at the end of this month remains fluid.

Amid ongoing controversy, Rep. Jeong Mi-kyung of the Grand National Party (Gwonseon-gu) argued through a policy forum held on the 5th: "The complex should be developed in a region where excellent medical and research institutions are concentrated," and "Gwanggyo Techno Valley with basic science R&D; is adjacent to Hyangnnam pharmaceutical complex in Hwaseong, showing the highest potential for growth as a medical hub."

Experts from academia and the medical field who participated as panelists that day argued that if the government clings to the pretext of 'balanced national development' without considering the special nature of the complex, which must demonstrate growth momentum in a short period, the success of the project cannot be guaranteed.

Notably, these experts criticized the government, saying that claiming balanced national development while imposing excessive financial burdens on local governments is contradictory.

<Policy Forum Held at National Assembly Library>

The current government has launched site selection work under a plan to invest 5.6 trillion won in a site of 1 million square meters to construct an advanced medical complex by 2038. Since the announcement, fierce competition has unfolded among local governments to attract the facility.

On the 5th, a 'Policy Forum for the Success of the Advanced Medical Complex' was held at the Seoul National Assembly Library, jointly hosted by Rep. Jeong Mi-kyung (Grand National Party, Gwonseon-gu) and the Gyeonggi Bio Center, drawing significant attention.

At the forum, Rep. Jeong publicly advocated for attracting the complex to Gwanggyo New City, and panelists including Prof. Lee Sang-hoon from Korea University discussed the realities of the medical complex.

Rep. Jeong Mi-kyung opened the discussion by first establishing that the complex is a new national growth engine, then argued that to gain competitiveness in a short period, it must be developed in a region where excellent medical and research institutions are concentrated.

Rep. Jeong stated that Gwanggyo New City meets all the conditions that the complex should have, and that Gwanggyo Techno Valley with basic science R&D; and Hyangnnam pharmaceutical complex in Hwaseong are adjacent, showing the highest potential for growth as a medical hub.

Prof. Lee Sang-hoon from Korea University, who presented the main topic, pointed out that following the announcement of the medical complex development, fierce competition among local governments has occurred, but the government lacks clear evaluation criteria for site selection, which has intensified confusion.

Regarding site selection criteria, Prof. Lee argued that the ability to secure high-quality research and medical personnel should be the standard, and that locations where tripartite support from the government, local governments, and mid-to-large enterprises is possible should be selected.

Prof. Kim Sung-hun from Seoul University, who subsequently participated as a panelist, argued that 200 billion won of short-term investment funds must be directed to research early so that global pharmaceutical and medical products can be produced after ten years.

To achieve this, Prof. Kim stated that instead of wasteful competition among local governments, a mutual cooperation system should be established to develop plans for utilizing existing personnel and infrastructure.

In contrast, Prof. Ji Hyok-pyo from Sungkyunkwan University, who expressed a negative stance on the project currently underway, raised questions about its success by pointing out that research and operational costs are set too low and the private sector's burden ratio (61% of the total) is too high.

In particular, Prof. Ji expressed doubts about whether third-party nonprofit foundations would invest in private projects, and noted that to address the shortage in the overall budget, local governments must be able to attract or invest directly or indirectly, raising the question of whether they have the capacity to handle such burden.

Chairman Baek Nam-sun of the Korean Society for Cancer Prevention also raised concerns about excessive financial burdens on local governments. Chairman Baek pointed out that local governments must present funding methods for private capital attraction and public facility operation and support measures, bearing all the burden.

Chairman Baek subsequently strongly criticized setting 'contribution to balanced national development' as a selection criterion, calling it irrational, and argued that the project should be pursued in accordance with its original purpose and objective.

Chairman Kim Wan-joo of C-Tree Inc. and Director Kwak Jae-won of the Joong Ang Ilbo Economic Research Institute agreed that sites should be selected in places where it is easy to build infrastructure for medical personnel, comprehensive hospitals, universities, research institutes, and other human and equipment resources.