Andong-si Launches Public Medical School Attraction Task Force ... "Securing Campus in Provincial Government Seat"

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] Andong City, Gyeongbuk Province announced on the 23rd that it will form a 'Public Medical School Attraction Task Force' and, together with Andong University, will actively engage in efforts to establish a new public medical school in response to the government's plan to expand medical school quotas.

The government announced on July 23 that it will temporarily increase the medical school quota, which has been frozen at 3,058 since 2006, by up to 400 students annually for ten years starting in 2022. The plan includes producing 3,000 regional doctors, 500 specialists in special and professional fields, and 500 medical scientist specialists, as well as establishing medical schools in regions without any.

Gyeongsangbuk-do faces an urgent need to establish a public medical school, ranking first among 17 cities and provinces nationwide with a treatable patient mortality rate of 57.8%, 16th with 1.4 doctors per 1,000 people, and 14th with 1.85 medical school quotas per 100,000 people. Among the 21 cities and counties nationwide classified as 'very vulnerable areas' for emergency medical care, four are located in the northern Gyeongbuk region.

Considering these regional conditions, Andong City formed the 'Public Medical School Attraction Task Force' on the 21st, led by the deputy mayor and including seven practical departments, related organizations (Andong Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Andong Medical Center), and Andong University officials.

The task force plans to propose to Gyeongbuk Province the ▲launch of a pan-citizen public medical school attraction committee ▲securing a campus site for the public medical school within the provincial government new city ▲attraction activities targeting central government ministries, and will also conduct pan-citizen public medical school attraction activities.

An Andong City official emphasized, "We will do our best to attract a public medical school to the region by continuously discussing with local lawmakers, related organizations, and groups to improve the vulnerable medical environment in Andong and the northern Gyeongbuk region and to cultivate public professionals in preparation for the post-COVID-19 era."

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