Namwon Hyanggyo Holds Prayer Ceremony at National Assembly Urging Passage of Public Medical School Act

Independent National Assembly member Lee Yong-ho and former Namwon Mayor Lee Hwan-joo held a ceremony on the 18th at the National Assembly to pray for the passage of the National Public Medical University Act. Park Jin-gyun, Vice Chairman of the Namwon City Patriotism Movement Headquarters (far left), and others are holding a banner. Photo by Jeonbuk Namwon Public Medical University Establishment Countermeasure Committee

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] Key figures affiliated with Namwon-si, Jeonbuk, gathered at the National Assembly on the 18th to hold an event urging the passage of related legislation, emphasizing the urgent need to establish a public medical university to protect the health of residents in underserved areas.

Among those present were Representative Lee Yong-ho (Independent, Namwon-si, Imsil-gun, Sunchang-gun, Jeonbuk), Representative Kim Kwang-soo (Democratic Peace Party, Jeonju-si Gap, Jeonbuk), as well as Namwon Mayor Lee Hwan-joo, Kim Yong-jun, chairman of the Pan-Committee for the Establishment of the National Public Medical University, and Yoo Hak-soo, Jeon-gyo of Namwon Hyanggyo, along with about 150 others. They held a prayer ceremony for the passage of the National Public Medical University Act and raised their voices, calling for bipartisan cooperation to pass the quarantine law, the Infectious Disease Prevention Act, and the bills proposed in 2016 during the February extraordinary session of the National Assembly.

The "Act on the Establishment and Operation of National and Public Medical Universities and National and Public Medical University Hospitals" was primarily proposed by Representative Park Hong-geun, with co-proposers including Kim Hae-young, Shin Kyung-min, Son Hye-won, Ahn Min-seok, and Lee Chan-yeol.

In the wake of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak, the need to strengthen public health care for medically vulnerable sectors, groups, and regions has emerged; however, public health care personnel have instead decreased. They argue that the passage of the bill is necessary to improve the satisfaction and trust in public health care services.

Additionally, despite the agreement between the ruling party and the government, the feasibility review by the Ministry of Education, and the inclusion of design budget, the bill has not passed the National Assembly, making it difficult to overcome the crisis in public medical care, including in underserved regional medical services, explained a Namwon city official.

The event participants welcomed the National Assembly's decision to review and deliberate on the quarantine law and the Infectious Disease Prevention Act, urging the urgent passage of the public medical university bill, which can serve as a foundation for training public medical personnel to create a safer Republic of Korea.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.