Sharp Critique of Island Medical Gaps... Park Jaesun Urges Urgent Measures for the Golden Hour

Two Hospital Ships Serve Over 160 Islands
Medical Services Halted During Bad Weather
Proposals Include Expanding Telemedicine and Redesigning Hospital Ship Operations

Jae-sun Park, a member of the Jeonnam Gwangju Integrated Special City Council (Democratic Party of Korea, Wando 1), has called on the executive branch to devise effective measures, highlighting the severe medical service gaps in the island regions.

During a five-minute free speech at the 1st plenary session of the 3rd regular meeting held on September 8, Assemblyman Park pointed out the harsh reality of island areas where even health centers are being shut down, and proposed three solutions: expanding telemedicine, redesigning hospital ship operation plans, and managing residents who have not undergone medical checkups.

Jaeseon Park, Member of the Jeonnam Gwangju Integrated Special City Council.

On that day, Park strongly criticized the poor state of healthcare in the islands, saying, “Wando is home to the nation’s first maritime healing center, but where are the local residents supposed to go when they are sick, even though their island is meant to heal others?”

According to Park, hospital ships visit some island villages only once every two or three months, leading elderly residents to wait a long time at piers for treatment. Furthermore, if bad weather results in cancellations, residents are left without care for extended periods until the next visit.

He especially highlighted the structural challenges of handling emergencies. Park expressed concern, saying, “The decrease in public health doctors is making it difficult to keep local health centers running, and when emergencies occur at night, ferry services have stopped and helicopter transport is nearly impossible, making it difficult to stay within the golden hour.”

He also reiterated the region’s poor medical conditions, stating, “Of the 288 islands nationwide that have neither public health centers nor clinics, over half are in our region, and only two hospital ships are responsible for 90 and 77 islands, respectively.”

As practical solutions, Park proposed increased support for island residents to access telemedicine, and suggested adjusting hospital ship schedules so that islands without medical facilities are prioritized for visits.

He also called for a system allowing medical staff to take turns serving onboard hospital ships, and asked that local health centers actively identify island residents who have missed medical checkups, guiding and linking them to screenings accordingly.

He emphasized, “The first promise the Integrated Special City should make to its citizens should not be a grand vision but a warm helping hand that reaches even the sickest elders on the farthest islands.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.