NICU beds in Gyeonggi Province operating at just 65% of licensed capacity

Bundang Seoul National University Hospital announced Sunday that it will host a National Assembly forum on Aug. 12 at the Small Auditorium of the National Assembly Library, focusing on ways to strengthen the maternal and pediatric care system in Gyeonggi Province.

The forum is co-hosted by 12 Democratic Party lawmakers — Kwon Chil-seung, So Byeong-hun, Song Ok-ju, Lee Eon-ju, Kim Ju-yeong, Park Sang-hyeok, Seo Yeong-seok, Choe Min-hui, Kim Yun, Kim Jun-hyeok, Park Hae-cheol and Lee Jae-gang — and organized jointly by Gyeonggi Province, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Bundang Seoul National University Hospital.

The forum was convened amid growing concern that delivery and pediatric care infrastructure is rapidly deteriorating, particularly outside major cities, and that Gyeonggi Province is already experiencing a tangible care gap that could worsen further. The event aims to gather perspectives from across sectors and identify practical improvements to the province's maternal and pediatric medical system.

Assembly member Kim Yun, who chairs the Gyeonggi Province Essential Public Medical Services Special Committee, will moderate the forum. Lee Yeong-jae, director of the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Regional Essential Medical Services Division, will deliver the first presentation on the government's plan to expand essential medical services. Oh Gyeong-jun, director of the Gyeonggi Province High-Risk Maternal and Neonatal Integrated Treatment Center and a professor at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, will then present a plan for managing maternal and pediatric patients in Gyeonggi Province through the establishment of a perinatal children's hospital and care network.

A panel discussion will follow, featuring Lee Hye-jin, head of the Gyeonggi Province Public Health and Medical Support Team and a professor at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital; Baek So-hyeon, director of the Gyeonggi Province Pediatric Emergency Medical Center and a professor at Bundang Cha Women's Hospital; Choe Chang-won, director of the Children's Public Specialized Care Center at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital; Choe Yong-jae, president of the Korean Association of Pediatric Hospitals; and Lee Hye-in, a reporter at the Kyunghyang Shinmun. Participants are expected to share the challenges facing maternal and pediatric care providers and discuss workable solutions.

Gyeonggi Province records the highest number of births among the country's 17 metropolitan and provincial governments, with about 71,000 newborns a year — 1.7 times the figure for Seoul.

Despite this, neonatal intensive care unit beds in the province are operating at just 65% of their licensed capacity, underscoring the gap between available resources and actual need.