Provincial Assemblyman Shin Min-ho Strongly Demands Confirmation of New Medical School Establishment in Jeonnam Region

Shin Min-ho, Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] Shin Min-ho, a member of the Jeonnam Provincial Assembly (Democratic Party, Suncheon 6), urged on the 8th at the 1st plenary session of the 346th extraordinary meeting of the Jeonnam Provincial Assembly to include the establishment of a medical school as part of the re-discussion process by submitting the “Resolution to Urge the Establishment of a Medical School in the Jeonnam Area.”

This is because a red light has been turned on for the establishment of a medical school in the Jeonnam area following the agreement on the 4th between the Korean Medical Association and the Democratic Party to halt discussions on expanding medical school quotas and establishing public medical schools and to reconsider the matter from scratch.

In response, Assemblyman Shin Min-ho stated, “Among the 17 cities and provinces nationwide, Jeonnam is the only region without a medical school and a tertiary general hospital specializing in severe disease treatment,” adding, “If we seek the reason for the existence of the state amid the desperate medical environment of Jeonnam, a medical blind spot that even fails to fulfill national obligations, the establishment of a medical school in the Jeonnam area must be promptly confirmed.”

He continued, “Jeonnam has the highest proportion of medically vulnerable groups nationwide, with an elderly population rate of 22.6% and a disability rate of 7.6%, and industrial accidents are increasing in areas densely populated with national institutions and industrial facilities,” adding, “The establishment of a comprehensive medical institution to prepare for major accidents and industrial disasters is urgently required.”

In particular, he emphasized, “Annually, 800,000 people receive medical treatment in other cities and provinces to access medical services at the level of tertiary general hospitals, and even during the COVID-19 situation, severe patients have no university hospital to receive treatment and must be treated in other regions,” adding, “The government must no longer ignore the voices of 2 million Jeonnam residents seeking to attract a medical school.”

Assemblyman Shin said, “To resolve the shortage of medical personnel and the imbalance of medical services between regions and to guarantee the right to health directly linked to the quality of life of Jeonnam residents, a medical school must be established in the medically underserved Jeonnam area.”

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