The government’s project to support Korean medical institutions’ advances abroad has produced no results at all, forcing officials to reexamine its validity, technical experts at the National Assembly’s Health-Welfare Committee pointed out.

The committee’s office of technical experts said this and other things in its evaluation of using the reserve budget used by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW)_{보건복지부} and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS)_{식품의약품안전처}.

According to the office, the two ministries spent 91.8 billion won ($81.0 million) on the project last year, aimed to help Korean medical institutions’ go abroad in cooperation with the Middle East, Mongol, and other developing countries.

In 2013, Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI)_{한국보건산업진흥원} established Korea Medical Holdings_{코리아메디컬홀딩스} through joint investment with the private sector to help finance the intergovernmental project and has since provided state subsidy of 1.1 billion won to it every year.

The office said, however, the budget spending has produced no results at all.

“Since the establishment of Korea Medical Holdings, it hasn’t generated any specific outcomes related to the overseas advancement by Koren hospitals,” it said. “It had problems from the start because the government interfered with the export of healthcare services, which should have been of public concern. The whole project needs a review.”