Gov. Park Soo-hyun holds forum with heads of four public hospitals to discuss financial recovery and stronger public health functions
South Chungcheong Province has organized a forum to chart a path forward for its public hospitals under the theme "Direction for Public Hospital Development and Strengthening Public Medical Functions in the Ninth Elected Term," focusing on financial recovery and stronger public health services.
Governor Park Soo-hyun convened a policy forum Friday at the provincial government's main conference room with the heads of four public hospitals and outside experts to discuss improvements to public medical services that residents can tangibly feel.
The forum opened with a keynote presentation by Yoo Won-seop, head of the public health division at the National Medical Center, on the future direction of public medicine, followed by designated panel discussions.
Panelists included Baek Hyeong-gi, director of the public health policy division at the Ministry of Health and Welfare; Na Baek-ju, a professor at Eulji University College of Medicine; Seo Yeong-jun, director of Gangwon Province's Yeongwol Medical Center; and Im Su-heum, director of Gongju Medical Center.
Participants assessed the pressing challenges facing public hospitals — including financial difficulties and fiscal burdens — and discussed tailored development strategies for each hospital that reflect local medical conditions and demand, as well as ways to strengthen public health functions.
Cheonan Medical Center faces stiff competition from university and large private hospitals in the area, compounded by poor accessibility due to its location on the outskirts of the city. Gongju Medical Center grappled with patient outflow to large hospitals in the Daejeon-Sejong area and the need to improve access for local residents.
Seosan Medical Center cited intensifying competition from private hospitals and inconvenience for patients caused by ongoing construction of a new wing, while Hongseong Medical Center pointed to reduced accessibility stemming from a shortage of parking.
Common challenges shared across all public hospitals include a lack of public awareness about the quality of medical services, rising personnel costs for medical staff due to the prolonged doctor-government conflict, insufficient investment capacity for essential medical care caused by ongoing operating deficits, and limitations in the compensation structure under the new comprehensive fee schedule system.
The province plans to use the forum's findings to define differentiated roles for each hospital that reflect local medical demand and conditions, with the goal of achieving financial recovery and strengthening essential medical functions simultaneously.
In addition, the province said it will gather diverse input from experts, hospital staff on the ground and policy officials to develop a comprehensive development strategy for public hospitals in the ninth elected term, and to map out specific directions for each facility.
"Public hospitals are a vital public health foundation that protects the health of local residents, but they face many difficulties, including financial hardship and securing medical personnel," Park said. "At the same time, reducing deficits cannot be an end in itself — that is not the nature of public medicine."
He added that the priority must be raising the quality of care and essential medical capacity so that patients trust and choose these hospitals, creating a virtuous cycle in which financial health follows. "Maintaining public service while improving competitiveness — that is the new direction South Chungcheong's public medicine must take," he said.
Park said the measure of success has shifted. "What matters now is not simply how many patients were treated, but whether residents are receiving the medical care they truly need," he said. "I will do my utmost for the health and safety of our residents and for the advancement of public medicine in South Chungcheong Province."
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
