SNU, Johns Hopkins Will Set Up Hospital in Incheon

SNU, Johns Hopkins Will Set Up Hospital in Incheon

Incheon Mayor Ahn Sang-soo, left, and Seong Sang-chul, president of Seoul National University Hospital speak during a press conference Thursday to announce their plan to open an international hospital with Johns Hopkins Medicine International in Songdo International City. / Courtesy of Incheon City By Kwon Mee-yoo Staff Reporter Incheon will have a world-class hospital in its new Songdo City complex in 2014, after representatives signed an MOU with Seoul National University Hospital and Johns Hopkins Medicine International (JHI), Thursday. According to the MOU, the hospital with 500 beds will be the first profit-making medical institute in Korea, with a sizable foreign investment. It is estimated to cost 400 billion won. The hospital will be built on an 80,000 square-meter site, and construction will be completed by 2013. The hospital will be fully operational in 2014. Incheon Mayor Ahn Sang-soo said having a foreign medical institution at Songdo City, an international business town with a full range of infrastructure in place, will help improve living conditions for expatriates there and attract more foreign investment. ``This project is going to satisfy the demand for high quality medical services in Northeast Asia and provide a chance to let the world know about the excellence of Korean medical services,'' Ahn said. Ahn expects the hospital will create up to 5,000 new jobs. It will have some 500 doctors and 2,000 nurses. The JHI is a United States-based international arm of Johns Hopkins Medicine, which has earned first place in America's Best Hospital rankings, made by the U.S. News & World Report magazine for 19 consecutive years. Seoul National University Hospital is one of the leading medical treatment, clinical research and training facilities in Korea. The MOU signing comes at a time when Korea is still trying to set up procedures for an international hospital to be opened, although Incheon expects all problems to be solved in time for its hospital plan to be implemented. A bill regarding foreign hospitals has been pending at the National Assembly for more than a year since it was sent for deliberations in November 2008. meeyoo@koreatimes.co.kr