Central and a provincial authorities are locking horns over a troubled public hospital in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, which faces a shutdown order amid snowballing losses and labor strife.

Health Minister Chin Young said during his visit to the hospital Wednesday that the ministry will make efforts to normalize its operation.

Provincial Gov. Hong Joon-pyo immediately raised opposition, urging the central government to stay out of its decision.

The two met in the afternoon, after Chin met unionized laborers earlier in the morning. The health minister has reportedly urged Hong to reconsider his plan to close the 103-year-old hospital.

“(I will) provide an opportunity for the hospital to play its public role by normalizing its operation,” Chin told labor union members at the hospital before meeting Hong. “I will listen to union members and hospital staff and bring their message to Gov. Hong,” he added.

Later in the afternoon, Hong said that he told the health minister that it is not the business of the central government to play a part.

If the central government wants to get involved with the plan, it should elevate the status of JMC into a national hospital or offer financial assistance of 50 billion won ($44 million) to the provincial government, Hong was quoted as saying by the local media.

The former chairman of the ruling Saenuri Party announced the plan to shut down the nation’s second-oldest public hospital last week, citing its irreversible financial situation and its hard-line trade union. The plan, however, drew widespread criticism for abandoning the hospital’s public role to serve low-income and elderly citizens.

Chin’s visit to the hospital came after the Saenuri Party and the central government urged Hong to take cautionary action. His plan contradicts President Park Geun-hye’s policy drive for strengthening public medical services, observers say.

“The case of Jinju Medical Center represents overall problems with the country’s public health service. The Ministry of Health and Welfare will review the case and suggest detailed plans,” Chin said.

Despite the opposition, Hong claimed that the planned closure of JMC will not inconvenience nearby residents nor undermine the country’s public health system. He pointed out that the hospital’s deteriorating financial condition, with 33 billion won of capital to cover an accumulated deficit of 27.9 billion won. But by shutting down the hospital, the assets will be reinvested into private hospitals to offer high-quality services to residents, he said.

Under a revised law, both the local and central government can financially assist private medical institutions to provide public health and medical services. Hong also criticized the union at the hospital, saying that it refused to accept any of restructuring plans proposed by the provincial government for many years.

The labor group also confronted Hong, saying that he is putting patients’ lives in danger by exerting market principles on public hospitals.

Critics argue that the operational losses should not be the main reason for closing JMC, as many provincial public medical centers are in a similar situation. Currently, the nation has a total of 34 public medical centers financially assisted by provincial governments.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)