Assemblyman Kim Won-i Urges Establishment of Medical School in Jeonnam Region During National Audit

Reaffirmation of the Minister of Health and Welfare's Commitment... Urging Prompt Resumption of Medical-Political Consultations
Long-term Suspension of Some Medical Services at Mokpo City Medical Center Due to Inability to Hire Doctors... Highlighting

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Jeong Hyeong-seok] Kim Won-i, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Mokpo-si, Jeonnam), reaffirmed Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong's commitment to establishing a new medical school in the Jeonnam region during the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s national audit held on the 6th. He also received a response from Minister Cho that various measures would be reviewed to promote discussions in the medical-government consultative body, which have been suspended for over two years.

At the audit site that day, Rep. Kim pointed out the reality that local medical centers have been closed for extended periods due to the inability to hire doctors. He said, “In the case of Mokpo City Medical Center, the neurology department has been closed since 2015, and the thoracic surgery department since 2016. The ophthalmology and emergency medicine departments are currently staffed by public health doctors as substitutes,” highlighting the severe regional medical disparities.

He then explained the results of a public opinion poll conducted by T-Bridge Corporation, a professional polling agency, from September 21 to 22, surveying 1,005 adults nationwide. Rep. Kim stated, “When asked about increasing the number of doctors, 69.6% were in favor. When asked about the regional doctor system to fill the shortage of doctors in local areas, 70% supported it. These figures represent an increase of about 5% compared to the 2020 survey.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Kim questioned Minister Cho Kyu-hong about the implementation plan for the Yoon Seok-yeol administration’s national task of establishing a “regionally self-sufficient medical system.” He emphasized once again the need to establish a medical school in the Jeonnam region, saying, “In Jeonnam, even if we want to have a regionally self-sufficient system, there is no medical school to train medical personnel locally, so we have to recruit doctors from outside.”

Rep. Kim also criticized the Ministry of Health and Welfare for hesitating due to the medical-government agreement to re-discuss through the medical-government consultative body after the stabilization of COVID-19, urging prompt and active action.

Regarding this, Rep. Kim received a promise from Minister Cho Kyu-hong, saying, “The Ministry of Health and Welfare is not neglecting its duties using the medical-government consultation as an excuse. Please trust us,” and “We will review various ways to promote the discussions.”

Finally, Rep. Kim proposed a new strategy to promote the establishment of a medical school in Jeonnam, saying, “If the difficulty in resuming medical-government consultations is due to the clause about COVID-19 stabilization in the agreement, then since the establishment of a medical school is not mentioned in the agreement, shouldn’t it be possible to proceed?”

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