Changwon Special City, "Attracting a Medical School to Changwon... Resolving a 30-Year Wish"

Mayor Hong Nampyo: "Hundreds of Thousands Travel to the Capital Region for Medical Treatment

The Only Solution Is Establishing Changwon Medical School"

The citizens' aspiration to attract a medical school to Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam is coming together in one place.

Changwon Special City has officially launched the ‘One Million Citizens, One Million Signatures Campaign’ to unite the citizens' hopes and determination for attracting a medical school. The goal is to collect signatures from more than 300,000 citizens by the end of July.

Changwon Special City, Gyeongnam, is conducting a petition campaign to attract a medical school.

Since the launch of the Pan-Citizen Promotion Committee in March and the National Assembly forum, the city has started building public consensus. By fully engaging in the signature campaign, the city plans to demonstrate internally and externally that attracting a medical school is a genuine citizen aspiration and use this as a basis to make recommendations to the government.

◇ Why is attracting a medical school to Changwon necessary?

Changwon Special City is the only metropolitan city with a population of over one million outside the metropolitan area that does not have a medical school, causing citizens to feel a relative deprivation in medical infrastructure.

The same applies to the entire Gyeongnam Province. Currently, there is only one medical school in Gyeongnam, at Gyeongsang National University, with a quota of just 76 students. Therefore, the number of medical school quotas per 100,000 people is 2.3, the lowest nationwide. The number of emergency medicine specialists is 2.0, less than half of the national average of 4.2. Consequently, 14 out of 18 regions in Gyeongnam are classified as emergency medical vulnerable areas.

Additionally, Changwon is the center of the Southeast industrial belt, with very high demand for industrial health medical services, but there is no institution for training specialized medical personnel to handle industrial accidents. In particular, the current medical workforce and infrastructure are grossly insufficient to meet the medical demands of the 1.6 million population in central Gyeongnam, centered around the Changwon National Industrial Complex.

Moreover, with the launch of the 8th term of the local government, the city is promoting the clustering of medical and bio high-tech equipment manufacturing industries. The medical school is expected to play a pivotal role in fostering future growth engines linked to the medical and bio industries.

◇ Now is the right time to attract a medical school

The call to attract a medical school in the region began 30 years ago. In 1992, Changwon National University applied to establish a pre-medical course with a quota of 40 students. In 1996 and 1997, citizen signature campaigns were conducted to establish an industrial medical school, and in 1998, a plan to establish an industrial medical school emphasizing regional specialization was submitted to the Ministry of Education.

In 2015, an application for establishment with a quota of 50 students was submitted to the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Changwon Special City also pursued the establishment of a medical school when it was launched as an integrated Changwon City in 2010. However, these efforts repeatedly failed.

The city judges that now is the right time to attract a medical school, as President Yoon Suk-yeol’s pledge and strong government commitment from the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Education to expand medical school quotas are evident. During the last presidential election, President Yoon announced ten major pledges for the Gyeongnam region, including ‘expanding the public medical network in Gyeongnam and establishing a quality medical service system.’ The 120 national tasks also include ‘strengthening essential medical infrastructure and reducing medical expenses.’

The atmosphere is heated. Gyeongnam Province is aligning with the city. Both the provincial and city councils have adopted proposals to the government, and on April 11, a joint press conference urging the establishment of a medical school in Changwon Special City was held. On April 27, the Gyeongnam City and County Council Chairpersons’ Association also adopted a proposal urging the establishment of a medical school in Changwon. Five local members of the National Assembly are also united in their voices. Recently, a media report cited a public opinion poll conducted by the National Health and Medical Industry Labor Union, showing that 66.7% of the public support expanding medical school quotas.

◇ Efforts to attract a medical school underway

Changwon Special City’s efforts to attract a medical school have been in full swing since early this year. At the end of January, the city formed the ‘Changwon Medical School Attraction Planning Team (TF)’ within the city hall organization and began establishing detailed strategies and plans for attraction activities.

On March 13, the ‘Changwon Medical School Attraction Pan-Citizen Promotion Committee’ inauguration ceremony and rally were held with about 1,000 attendees, including local members of the National Assembly, provincial and city council members, economic, medical, educational sectors, and civic and social organizations.

The launch ceremony and rally of the 'Changwon Medical School Attraction Citizens' Promotion Committee' were held.

Participants on that day pledged, “Changwon is currently the only metropolitan city with a population of over one million without a medical school, pharmacy school, dental school, Korean medicine school, or law school. The attraction of a medical school in Changwon is a 30-year-old citizen aspiration that began in 1992 and must be realized. We will do our best to achieve this.”

Subsequently, a National Assembly forum for nationwide public discussion was held on March 27 at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building in Seoul. Co-hosted by five local members of the National Assembly, Gyeongsangnam-do, and Changwon Special City, about 200 participants including experts from various fields and Changwon citizens attended. The high level of interest was evident as some attendees had to stand to listen.

◇ Future plans

The ‘One Million Citizens, One Million Signatures Campaign’ that began at the Pan-Citizen Promotion Committee inauguration has entered a speed phase since May. The city set a signature target of over 300,000. To achieve this, signature campaign teams have been formed in the five district offices, and an online signature campaign is being conducted using the city’s website and official SNS. Additionally, the city plans to encourage citizen participation through visiting signature campaigns and operating promotional booths at large festivals.

The city plans to deliver the collected signatures along with a petition to the government by July. Alongside this, the city will carry out campaigns for establishing the medical school, visits and recommendations to the central government and National Assembly, press conferences to urge establishment and promote the cause, events praying for the attraction of the medical school, and relay solo protests in a comprehensive manner.

Mayor Hong Nam-pyo said, “Due to the shortage of medical personnel and infrastructure, 200,000 patients annually travel from Gyeongnam to the metropolitan area for medical treatment. The only solution to this problem is the establishment of a medical school in Changwon.” He added, “By attracting a medical school, we will improve regional medical standards, prevent the outflow of local talent, attract outstanding external talent, and foster the medical and bio industries.”

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