First Foreign For-Profit Hospital in Korea Approved.... China’s “Greenland International Hospital” to be Established on Jeju Island.

 

The government approved the establishment of “Greenland International Hospital” on Jeju Island on December 18. Funded by a Chinese real estate group, the hospital will host mere 47 beds, but what matters here is the fact that the hospital is the first For-profit hospital in Korea.

 

Unlike other non-profit medical facilities established by medical personnels or medical corporations that are currently in place in Korea, the new hospital will generate and return profit to its investor.

 

The government has been working to introduce the open-investment-type international hospital as a means to encourage more private investments to health and medical services.

 

Establishment of foreign hospital, however, has been opposed by the entire population of Korea. Citizen groups including KHMU announced their plan to strongly oppose the new hospital, urging, “Establishment of for-profit hospital will neutralize the national health insurance, shake the traditional medical system by its roots, and lead hospital fees to skyrocket.”