[Coronavirus] Seoul mayor proposes special hospital for infectious disease in downtown area

[Yonhap Photo]

SEOUL -- To cope with a more powerful epidemic, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon proposed the construction of a major state hospital specializing in infectious diseases such as COVID-19 in the center of the densely populated capital, saying South Korea should now take preemptive action to set up a bastion of public health.

Park suggested that the aging state-run National Medical Center, established in 1958, should be relocated and built anew with an infectious disease hospital and a trauma center on land controlled by the Defense Ministry in a downtown district. He called for quick construction through discussions with the central government.

"Infectious diseases are not limited to location and time. But it is also a big city that spreads greatly. In that sense, a hospital specializing in infectious diseases is really precious. It is necessary to take preemptive action as it is not known when an infectious disease like COVID-19 will come on a larger scale," the mayor told a press briefing on Tuesday.

Park said his proposal was based on a public consensus. "I made this proposal because I felt a sense of urgency that I could no longer delay this opportunity, especially on the occasion of COVID-19." His proposal was supported by Oh Myoung-don, a professor at Seoul National University's college of medicine who heads the Central Clinical Committee.

Oh said the hospital specializing in infectious diseases would become "a bastion to protect people's health."

Lim Chang-won cwlim34@ajunews.com

[Coronavirus] Seoul mayor proposes special hospital for infectious disease in downtown area

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