Ten years have passed since the ‘Jeju Special Act’ to make Jeju a free international city was implemented. The Jeju Free International City Development Center (JDC) was founded the following year. Since then JDC has designed six projects to build a foundation for Jeju Free International City, including the Jeju Healthcare Town project. According to Korean medical tourism industry sources, 60,201 overseas travelers visited Korea for medical purposes in 2009, pumping up profits by KRW54.7 billion. The number increased by 36% to 81,789 in 2010. In November 2011, the Ministry of Health and Welfare signed an agreement with the Abu Dhabi Health Authority to help Korea’s four medical institutions entice patients. Abu Dhabi provides public funds to 3,000 patients annually to seek appropriate treatment overseas. The agreement is expected to fuel a boom in Korea’s top-quality medical services in the Middle East. To build on this momentum, JDC has stepped up efforts to make Jeju, home to more than one million overseas visitors in 2011, a global hub for medical tourism based on its Jeju Healthcare Town project. JDC is a state-owned company established under the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs to turn Jeju into a free international city, like Hong Kong and Singapore. It is developing six projects — Jeju Global Education City, Jeju Healthcare Town, Jeju Science Park, Resort-type Residential Complex, Myths and History Theme Park and Seogwipo Tourism Port — to achieve this goal. Recently, several Chinese real estate firms expressed their intention to join the Jeju Healthcare Town project, helping it proceed smoothly. This brightens the future of Jeju as the Asian hub for medical tourism. JDC selected ‘Seowoo–Zhong Da Real Estate  (Seowoo) consortium’ as the preferred bidder for the Jeju Healthcare Town project on December 7. The Seowoo consortium, which consists of Neulproon Medical Foundation (Bobath Memorial Hospital), Seowoo Co., Ltd., Zhong Da Real Estate and ADI Health Care Co., Ltd., plans to invest KRW467 billion in the project having a site area of 449,490 square meters. Major facilities to be located in the Town include a medical check-up center and clinic, rehabilitation center, sanatorium, health community, international resort and other commercial facilities to make the Town a world-class healthcare resort by integrating the concepts of medical service, health, resort and tourism, and by providing differentiated services. Zhong Da Real Estate, a real estate firm in Kunshan, Jiangsu, China, will be responsible for overseas marketing, while Neulproon Medical Foundation will become the main operator of healthcare facilities to be set up at the resort complex. ADI Health Care Co., Ltd., a total healthcare company, will provide solutions necessary for building and operating healthcare facilities. Following the meeting, JDC will facilitate negotiations with the Seowoo consortium to produce positive results for the project within the shortest time. Specifically, it plans to reach a short form agreement (SFA) within the next three months and an official agreement within the next six months with the aim of establishing a joint corporation this year. JDC signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Greenland Group, based in Shanghai, China, on December 23, 2011. The MOU states that Greenland Group will exclusively build facilities at the Wellness Park and R&D Park within Jeju Healthcare Town, while JDC will provide administrative, PR and marketing support in moving the project forward. The MOU signing was followed by a kick-off meeting on January 9, 2012, to flesh out a plan to build recreational and commercial facilities linked to medical services at Jeju Healthcare Town. Business delegations from the two parties participated in the meeting, in addition to staff from related agencies, including Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and KOTRA, to get to know each other better. This has led to a foundation for related parties to implement tasks continuously and efficiently after negotiations and an official contract is concluded. Meanwhile, as a part of JDC’s efforts to make Jeju Healthcare Town into a hub for medical tourism, JDC signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Hospital for SickChildren on January 16, 2012, in Toronto, Canada. Through the agreement, JDC and Hospital for SickChidren will work closely together on exchanges, and JDC will adapt the hospital’s operating system and know-how with respect to pediatric hospitals. “We will work to attract leading domestic and overseas medical institutions to Jeju and create a special medical zone on the island as part of our efforts to establish an advanced healthcare infrastructure befitting an international free city,” JDC Chairman Byon Jong-il said while announcing JDC’s 2012 business plans in celebration of its 10^th anniversary. Meanwhile, Jeju Healthcare Town, one of JDC’s core projects, will be built in Donghong-dong and Topyeong-dong, Seogwipo City, Jeju, with a total investment of KRW784.5 billion. This resort and medical service complex will consist of a Medical Park, Wellness Park and R&D Park to provide a wide range of healthcare services.