Pukyong National University Medical School Sets Sail for Establishment

Radiation Medical School 'Gijang Campus' 70,000 Pyeong Scale Visualized
Global Radiation Medical Science Cluster Linked with Nuclear Medicine Institute Announced

Aerial view of Pukyong National University, Jang-an-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan, including the Pukyong National University College of Radiological Sciences and the Gijang Campus.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The long-cherished project of establishing a medical school at Pukyong National University is becoming visible.

On the 10th, Pukyong National University announced that it will actively promote the establishment of the ‘Gijang Campus,’ centered on the Radiation Medical School.

Pukyong National University currently has departments such as Nursing, Biomedical Engineering under the College of Engineering, and Fisheries Disease Medicine, but it does not have a medical major program.

Recently, Pukyong National University held a task force and working committee for the establishment of the Radiation Medical School and decided on a phased plan to establish a world-class convergence campus of about 70,000 pyeong in the ‘Southeast Radiation Medical Science Industrial Complex’ in Jangan-eup, Gijang-gun, Busan by 2030, including the Radiation Medical School.

In the first phase, the Radiation Medical School will be newly established by 2022, and based on this, in the second phase, by 2025, a Graduate School of Radiation Medical Science for basic and applied research in radiation medicine will be established.

The second phase also includes the establishment of a College of Pharmacy. Upon completion of phases one and two, the Gijang Campus is expected to develop into the leading radiation treatment and research university in Northeast Asia, linked with the existing Southeast Regional Nuclear Medicine Center and the heavy ion accelerator, known as the dream cancer treatment device.

From 2026 to 2030, in the third phase, Pukyong National University plans to create a world-class future campus by newly establishing and expanding departments related to convergence engineering connected with the new research reactor within the medical science complex, the power semiconductor commercialization center, and the radioisotope fusion research infrastructure.

Once completed, a new campus accommodating 2,000 students and about 500 professors and staff will be established in Jangan-eup, Gijang-gun.

Currently, the medical science complex has invested 1.0987 trillion KRW in five major facilities: the heavy ion accelerator (260.6 billion KRW), the new research reactor (438.9 billion KRW), the power semiconductor commercialization center (194 billion KRW), the radioisotope fusion research infrastructure (30.3 billion KRW), and the Southeast Regional Nuclear Medicine Center with 300 beds (174.9 billion KRW). When linked with Pukyong National University’s Gijang Campus, the birth of a world-class advanced radiation medical science cluster is anticipated.

Accordingly, Busan City plans to sign a joint MOU with Pukyong National University and Gijang-gun at Busan City Hall on the 24th to actively promote the attraction of the Radiation Medical School and Gijang Campus.

Earlier, in February, Gijang-gun signed a letter of intent with Pukyong National University to provide 111,437㎡ of educational facility land within the medical science complex free of charge, and if more campus land is needed, it plans to request Busan City by the end of this month to change urban planning facilities to utilize an adjacent related industrial site of about 140,000㎡.

Busan City expects that once the first phase project of establishing the Radiation Medical School is completed, securing specialized personnel linked with the medical center and heavy ion accelerator will enable Busan to leap forward as the ‘Cancer Treatment Hub’ of Northeast Asia.

Furthermore, with the establishment of the Graduate School of Radiation Medical Science and the College of Pharmacy in the second phase, the foundation for an advanced radiation medical complex comparable to the advanced medical complexes in Daegu and Osong will be laid. Upon completion of the third phase convergence campus, a future convergence-type radiation medical science cluster linking industry, academia, research, and hospitals will be secured.

Although the establishment of a medical school typically requires a budget of about 500 billion KRW, including more than 300 billion KRW for an affiliated hospital, Pukyong National University’s Radiation Medical School can utilize the Southeast Regional Nuclear Medicine Center on the same site as its affiliated hospital, and the land is provided free of charge by Gijang-gun. Based on the minimum recruitment unit of 40 students, the national funding required for construction of classrooms and dormitories is 32.6 billion KRW, which is about 10% of the establishment cost of other national university medical schools.

Pukyong National University will hold a plaque ceremony for the ‘Radiation Medical Science Establishment Promotion Team’ at 11 a.m. on the 15th at the university headquarters. The event will be attended by President Kim Young-seop, National Assembly members Park Jae-ho (Nam-gu Eul) and Jeong Dong-man (Gijang-gun), Busan City Economic Vice Mayor Park Seong-hoon, Busan City Council member Gu Kyung-min, Gijang-gun Council Chairman Hwang Un-cheol, and Park Tae-hyun, Chairman of the Jangan-eup Development Committee, among others.

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