Yeouido Full Gospel Church is pushing to resume the construction of the Pyongyang Heart Hospital, which had been halted after the Cheonan sinking incident.
According to Yeouido Full Gospel Church, Senior Pastor Lee Young-hoon met with Unification Minister Jeong Dong-yeong on the 11th to discuss the Pyongyang Heart Hospital project, and they agreed to collaborate with the government to resume the construction.
The church stated, "In the future, we will coordinate the timing of the resumption through consultations with the government and North Korean authorities."
However, communication with North Korea is effectively severed at present, making North Korea's willingness to accept the project a crucial factor.
The Pyongyang Heart Hospital is a large medical facility designed with 1 basement floor and 7 above-ground floors (with a total floor area of 20,000 square meters and 280 beds), aiming to support the treatment of heart disease for North Korean residents by dispatching medical staff from the South.
The project gained momentum when former President Roh Moo-hyun proposed it during the 2007 inter-Korean summit. Senior Pastor Cho Yong-gi signed an agreement with the Korean Christian Federation in North Korea in June of that year, and construction commenced then; however, it stalled at 70% completion due to strained inter-Korean relations following the Cheonan incident in 2010.