Ulju hospital operator threatens to quit twice in under two months, raising public healthcare fears

Ulju Hospital, established to serve residents in the southern communities of Onsan, Onyang and Seo-saeng in Ulju-gun, Ulsan, is facing the prospect of a public healthcare breakdown after its operating foundation declared its intention to abandon the management contract twice in less than two months of opening.

The hospital was built by Ulju-gun as a public medical facility to fill the emergency care void left when Nam-Ulsan Boram Hospital, located at 233 Deongnam-ro, Onyang-eup, Ulju-gun, Ulsan, closed in February 2019 due to financial difficulties.

Emergency patient demand in the area grew steadily after the closure. According to the Onsan Fire Station, the number of patients transported by ambulance after Nam-Ulsan Boram Hospital shut down was 2,516 in 2019, 2,895 in 2020 and 3,172 in 2021.

In response, Ulju-gun drew up a plan to build a county-run hospital in the southern area, spending about 55 billion won ($41.1 million) to acquire and renovate an existing building with a total floor area of 7,778 square meters across one below-ground floor and seven above-ground floors. The county entrusted operations to On Hospital Group Medical Foundation, and the facility opened Sept. 4. It currently operates 55 beds across seven departments: family medicine, internal medicine, surgery, radiology, anesthesiology and pain medicine, orthopedics, and emergency medicine.

On the very day of opening, Sept. 4, the foundation notified the county of its intent to abandon the contract, citing excessive county interference and unfavorable contract terms. It withdrew that notice on Oct. 2, only to send a formal letter to Ulju-gun on Tuesday — 25 days later — requesting the county accept a second abandonment of the contract and take follow-up action.

The foundation cited three specific grounds for its second withdrawal: serious infringement on the management independence guaranteed under the contract, contract clauses unilaterally disadvantageous to the operator and an increased financial burden, and the collapse of plans to improve profitability and escape early deficits.

At an Ulju Hospital Management Committee meeting held Oct. 15, before the second abandonment notice, the foundation put forward four demands: permission to operate a funeral parlor and a café inside the hospital, a monthly housing allowance of 2 million won for the hospital director, the addition of five dialysis machines to the artificial kidney unit, and higher wages for medical staff.

On this, Ulju-gun is understood to have agreed to the funeral parlor and café operations, said it would review the housing allowance and wage requests, and rejected the dialysis machine addition on the grounds that existing machines are not yet in operation. The Ulju Hospital Management Committee comprises 10 members — six recommended by Ulju-gun and the Ulju County Assembly, and four from medical institutions.

Since opening, the hospital recorded 1,952 outpatient visits and 1,163 individual outpatients through mid-October, and began operating its emergency room in October, steadily building its presence as a community hospital. Against that backdrop, the operating foundation's repeated moves to abandon the contract have left many in the area bewildered.

One resident who has used the hospital expressed strong frustration. "This is the first hospital we've had in seven years, and right after it opened, the operator quit, then took it back, and now wants to quit again," the resident said. "Watching all this, I can't help but wonder how they prepared for this hospital — as a county resident, I feel disrespected."

Choi Yun-seong, a Ulju County Assembly lawmaker who raised the hospital issue during last month's administrative audit, said there is widespread criticism that designing the facility as a general hospital was a mistake given the rural character of the area. "For an operator to take on the burden and run the hospital, the setup needs to match local needs — a reliable emergency care system focused on the golden hour for critical patients, and departments like pediatrics that residents actually need," Choi said.

A Ulju-gun official said the county would "carefully review the foundation's stated reasons for abandoning the contract and find the best solution to ensure there is no gap in medical care for residents."