Pukyong National University

Request on a development of Southerneast Area Radiological & Medical Sciences Industrial Complex in Gijang as a 「global cancer treatment hub」

- Aims to the best cancer treatment facilities in Asia, a cancer medical center with medical heavy ion accelerator

- 10 additional facilities, including a medical device center, clinical trial center, and medical college

- To build a customized cancer treatment and precision medical complex in connection with medical-research-education-industry

△ (From the left) Hwang Woon-Cheol, the former county council chairman of Gijang, Choi Hee-Rak, vice president of the External Affairs and Development at Pukyong National University, Park Jae-Ho, the chairman of the Party Busan City in Democratic Party, Kim Dae-Goon, the county council chairman of Gijang, and professor Son Dong-Woon

As the 20th presidential election pledges, Pukyong National University (President Jang Young-Soo) and the Gijang County Council (Council chairman Kim Dae-Goon) jointly requested that the Southerneast Area Radiological & Medical Sciences Industrial Complex (1,487,603㎡), which is currently being built with an investment of 1.4 trillion won, as a global cancer treatment hub, Jangan-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan.

On November 13, the delegation, including Council Chairman Kim Dae-Goon and Choi Hee-Rak, Vice-President of Pukyong National University, visited the Busan City Party Chairman Park Jae-Ho of the Democratic Party and the Busan City Party Chairman Baek Jong-Heon from the People's Power Party, and delivered a joint proposal for the establishment of the 'Southerneast Area Radiological & Medical Sciences Industrial Complex in Gijang as a global cancer treatment hub'.

The Southerneast Area Radiological & Medical Sciences Industrial Complex is the largest high-tech radiation medical complex in Northeast Asia, where the Dongnam Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences (DIRAMS), a cancer-specialized center located in a single area, the heavy particle accelerator, a dream cancer treatment device, and a research reactor, a facility that produces new drugs with radiation, are gathered. Pukyong National University and the Gijang county council requested that the site be made into a complex where cancer treatment-research-education-industry is linked, not a general industrial complex. Pukyong National University and the Gijang county council jointly requested that the site should be made into a complex where cancer treatment-research-education-industry is linked, not a general industrial complex.

Especially, unlike the 10 domestic medical complexes such as the high-tech medical complex, which are centered on research facilities, the medical science complex is centered on hospitals and treatment facilities that treat patients directly, the delegation emphasized that Busan should be developed into a global cancer treatment hub by establishing an additional medical center and nurture professional doctors and scientists.

The main requests of △the delegation are the Radiation Convergence Medical Device Center, the Radiation Big Data Center, and the Institute for Experimental Animals in the research facilities △an independent small proton beam therapy machine and the cyclotron for isotope production for the treatment facilities, △ the establishment of a radiology medical college and an international curriculum for the educational facility, △10 facilities including a branch of the National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation (mainly appraise all radiologic medicines), a clinical trial support center, and a venture start-up support center for the support facilities, and the project cost is estimated 430 billion won by 2026.

If such facilities are well equipped, Pukyong National University and Gijang County Council announced that the medical service of the city will be improved dramatically as it will be possible to create a new industry by attracting foreign patients through Wellness Medical Tourism in connection with the East Busan Tourism Complex (EBTC), as well as 10 million residents of the southern region of the East Sea including Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam by dispersing visiting patients going to Seoul. In addition, if this area is designated as a regulatory sandbox, expanded access treatment for terminal cancer patients will be possible, and if administrative support becomes active due to the establishment of a branch of the branches of the National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation, it is expected that the attraction of domestic and global radiation medical companies will also be vital.

As a result of a research request from Pukyong National University to the Institute of Health Service Management at Hanyang University in March for the establishment of a medical college, more than 50% of cancer patients in the United States and Europe undergo radiological treatment, and 43.9% of cancer patients distributed in the metropolitan area. However, since the rate of radiological treatment for cancer patients in the southeast region is low at 11.8%, it was pointed out that various radiation medical devices and facilities should be provided in addition to the Medical Heavy lon Accelerator which is scheduled to be completed by 2023. <Pukyong Today>

△ (From the left) Hwang Woon-Cheol, the former county council chairman of Gijang, Choi Hee-Rak, vice president of the External Affairs and Development at Pukyong National University, Baek Jong-Heon, the Busan City Party Chairman Baek Jong-Heon from the People's Power Party, Kim Dae-Goon, the county council chairman of Gijang, and professor Son Dong-Woon