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Busan Metropolitan City Signs Agreement to Establish Proton Therapy Center, Taking a Leap Toward Becoming a Cancer Treatment Hub

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that at 11:00 a.m. on November 3, it would sign an agreement at the Grand Josun Busan Hotel in Haeundae with Gijang-gun, the Dongnam Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences, and the Busan Institute of Science and Technology Promotion to establish a Proton Therapy Center as part of the initiative to develop Busan into a specialized city for advanced cancer treatment in the southeastern region.

This agreement aims to introduce proton therapy at the Dongnam Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences, located within the Dongnam Radiological and Medical Science Industrial Complex in Gijang-gun. It seeks to overcome the limitations of cancer treatment infrastructure concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area and to establish a cooperative foundation for building a complete, locally based cancer treatment system.

Participants at the signing ceremony included Mayor Park Heong-joon; Gijang County Mayor Jeong Jong-bok; Lee Jin-gyeong, President of the Korea Institute of Radiological and Medical Sciences; Lee Chang-hoon, President of the Dongnam Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences; and Kim Young-bu, President of the Busan Institute of Science and Technology Promotion.

The main contents of the agreement include:
▲ Promotion of the Proton Therapy Center construction project
▲ Establishment of a comprehensive regional cancer treatment system
▲ Development of infrastructure for customized cancer treatment for pediatric and intractable cancers
▲ Cooperation for job creation and economic revitalization within the region.

Proton therapy, along with carbon-ion therapy, is an advanced form of radiation treatment that precisely destroys cancer cells while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissues.
It is particularly effective for treating pediatric cancers, where damage to normal tissues can be critical, and is applicable to most solid tumors—excluding blood cancers—such as brain, head and neck, lung, liver, and prostate cancers.

Currently, there are only two proton therapy centers operating in Korea—at the National Cancer Center (Goyang, Gyeonggi Province) and Samsung Medical Center (Seoul)—both located in the metropolitan area. This geographical concentration limits access for patients in other regions and causes treatment delays, worsening survival rate disparities and perpetuating regional imbalances in medical services.
Busan estimates that among approximately 80,000 radiation therapy sessions performed nationwide annually, about 10% (around 8,000 cases) would be eligible for proton therapy. However, the current capacity allows treatment for only about 1,500 patients per year.

Once proton therapy is introduced in Busan, it is expected to create a world-class cancer treatment cluster in connection with the Carbon-ion Therapy Center being established nearby by Seoul National University Hospital within the Dongnam Radiological and Medical Science Industrial Complex.

Busan explained that proton therapy, which uses relatively lighter energy, will be applied for growing children, while carbon-ion therapy, using stronger energy, will target recurrent or refractory cancers—enabling optimal customized treatment.

Furthermore, by building an industrial ecosystem covering the full cycle of cancer treatment—from the production of radiopharmaceuticals to advanced regenerative medicine—the project is expected to reduce the cost of out-of-region medical treatments, attract long-term (residential-type) patients, and revitalize the medical industry.

In addition, Busan plans to develop the area into a hub for cutting-edge cancer research by promoting collaboration in the fields of medical radioisotopes, gene and cell therapy, and academia–industry–research joint R&D using particle beams, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of the regional medical industry as a whole.

Following the signing ceremony, the second part of the event, the 5th Future Technology Innovation Forum, will be held under the theme “Regional Integrated Healthcare through Particle Therapy: Future Development Strategy for the Dongnam Radiological and Medical Science Cluster.” The forum will feature presentations and discussions on cooperation strategies for advancing radiological and medical science through particle therapy, including proton and carbon-ion treatment.

Mayor Park Heong-joon stated, “The introduction of proton therapy, alongside carbon-ion and gene and cell therapy, will make Busan the first city in the world equipped with all three cutting-edge treatment modalities. Through this agreement, we aim not only to advance state-of-the-art cancer treatment but also to foster the growth of the medical industry and promote medical tourism by attracting residential-type patients—ultimately establishing Busan as a global hub for cancer treatment.”