Suncheon City Council Urges Establishment of Medical School in Jeonnam Region

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] The Suncheon City Council (Chairman Seo Jeong-jin) urged the establishment of a medical school in the Jeonnam region at the 2nd plenary session of the 1st regular meeting of the 242nd session held on the 12th.

According to Councilor Kim Mi-yeon, who proposed the urging resolution, Jeonnam is the only region among the nationwide metropolitan local governments without a medical school and a specialized hospital for severe disease treatment. She stated that out of 99 emergency medical vulnerable cities and counties nationwide, 17 are located in Jeonnam. In particular, the island areas, which are representative medical vulnerable regions, account for 276 out of 470 nationwide, the highest number, leaving about 173,000 island residents deprived of medical benefits.

Furthermore, the proportion of the population aged 65 and over in Jeonnam is 22.6%, significantly exceeding the national average, having already entered a super-aged society. Despite the continuous increase in medical demand for chronic diseases due to aging, related facilities are absolutely insufficient, she emphasized.

Moreover, as seen in the recent COVID-19 crisis, the need to strengthen public health care is emerging, and industrial accidents are increasing in regions densely populated with national key industrial facilities. Therefore, the establishment of a comprehensive medical institution to prepare for major accidents and industrial disasters is urgently required, she argued.

Accordingly, through a government appeal, the Suncheon City Council urged ▲expanding the quota of medical schools reflecting the reality of insufficient medical personnel in vulnerable areas and public medical sectors ▲promptly confirming the establishment of a medical school in the Jeonnam region to resolve regional medical service imbalances.

Meanwhile, the urging resolution approved at the plenary session on the day is scheduled to be sent to the President, Speaker of the National Assembly, Prime Minister, leaders of each political party, Minister of Education, and Minister of Health and Welfare.

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