Jeonnam Provincial Council Strongly Urges Promotion of Establishing National Medical University

'Most Vulnerable Medical Facilities' 700,000 Wonjeong Patients and 1.3 Trillion Won Leakage Costs

On the 1st, the Jeonnam Provincial Council issued a statement urging the government to promptly advance the establishment of the Jeonnam National Medical University. Photo by Jeonnam Provincial Council

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Jun-kyung] The Jeonnam Provincial Council has formed a task force for attracting a national medical school and urged the government to promptly promote the establishment of a national medical school in Jeonnam.

At a press conference held on the 1st at the council briefing room, the task force stated, “Jeonnam is the only metropolitan local government without a medical school and has the highest number of emergency medical vulnerable areas nationwide,” adding, “700,000 people travel annually for medical treatment outside the region, resulting in an annual outflow of medical expenses amounting to 1.3 trillion won.”

They continued, “Due to the characteristics of our country, medical resources are concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area, and Jeonnam’s severe emergency patient outflow rate is 46%, the highest in the nation,” and pointed out, “With the largest number of island areas nationwide, medical accessibility is weak, and since national key industrial facilities are densely located, establishing medical infrastructure to prepare for industrial accidents is urgently needed.”

Furthermore, they emphasized, “The demand for establishing a medical school, which began in 1990 to improve Jeonnam’s poor medical environment and secure insufficient medical personnel, is the desperate voice of 2 million Jeonnam residents,” and added, “According to last year’s ‘Resident Demand Survey,’ 89% of residents chose ‘establishment of a medical school and affiliated hospital’ as the top priority issue Jeonnam must resolve, reflecting the residents’ strong desire and expectation for the establishment of a medical school like never before.”

They also stated, “Past administrations under Lee Myung-bak, Park Geun-hye, and Moon Jae-in all recognized the necessity of a medical school in Jeonnam and promised its establishment, but these promises were repeatedly broken,” urging, “The government must promptly promote the establishment of a medical school that is directly linked to the lives of Jeonnam residents.”

Starting with the announcement of this statement, the task force plans to lead the establishment of the Jeonnam medical school through public relations efforts such as a pan-resident forum, signature campaigns, and rallies to build consensus, as well as visits to government ministries and the National Assembly.

The task force, composed of 24 Jeonnam provincial council members, elected Choi Seon-guk, Chair of the Health, Welfare and Environment Committee, and Shin Min-ho, Chair of the Planning and Administration Committee, as co-chairs.

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