Busan Mayor Park Hyung-jun publicly criticized the Lee Jae-myung administration and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, demanding they fulfill their promise to convert Busan Baptist Hospital into a public facility.
"Minister Jung Eun-kyung and the Ministry of Health and Welfare must stop blocking the conversion of Baptist Hospital into a public hospital," Park wrote on his social media account on Tuesday.
"The Democratic Party has promised to make Baptist Hospital a public institution in every election, but this has yet to be fulfilled," he said. "They must answer why this promise remains unmet."
Park escalated pressure by citing past statements from government officials. "President Lee Jae-myung promised support in a Busan broadcast interview when he was party leader, and Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said during the Geumjeong District by-election that 'if we become the ruling party, we will create a public Baptist Hospital,'" Park said. "Why are promises repeated every election season not being kept?"
The Busan city government maintains it has completed administrative preparations. "Since taking office, I have moved to purchase Baptist Hospital and pursued its conversion to a public facility, continuously making proposals to the central government," Park said.
"After the Lee Jae-myung administration took office, I visited the Ministry of Health and Welfare with local lawmakers to request fulfillment of the pledge," he added. "We also submitted a plan for Busan to cover the fiscal deficit from the hospital conversion for 10 years."
Park took issue with the ministry's inconsistent response. "We have been preparing while waiting for the government's decision, but the Ministry of Health and Welfare has been changing its position, even reversing the inspection schedule," he said. "This exploits the expectations of Busan citizens."
"We prepared in good faith after the Health Insurance Policy Review Committee subcommittee said it would conduct an on-site inspection in Busan, but even this was not honored," Park said. "This is an act of mockery toward citizens."
Park concluded his post with an ultimatum: "Give a clear answer on whether you will keep the promise to convert Baptist Hospital into a public facility or not. We can no longer wait."
The public conversion of Baptist Hospital is considered a key project for expanding public healthcare infrastructure in eastern Busan. However, the project has stalled due to ongoing disagreements between the central government and Busan over fiscal burden and operational methods.
