Private University Donates Land to National University... Dongmyeong University 'Animal Hospital' Site Donation Ceremony

Jeon Ho-hwan, President: "Synergy with the Nation's Only College of Companion Animals"

366 Billion KRW National Funding, Basement 1 Floor & 4 Floors Above Ground, Total Area 9,000㎡

Local Governments, National and Private Universities Achieve

Dongmyung University donated campus land to build a ‘University Animal Hospital.’ This is an unprecedented project where one university donates campus land to another university.

Dongmyung University (President Jeon Ho-hwan) and Gyeongsang National University (President Kwon Soon-ki) held a land donation ceremony for the university animal hospital site within the Dongmyung University campus, marking the first step toward becoming a biomedical hub in the southeastern region, the two universities announced on the 3rd.

On June 30th, the two universities held the ‘Gyeongsang National University College of Veterinary Medicine Animal Hospital Busan Branch Construction Dongmyung University Land Donation Ceremony’ at the Dongmyung University main building in the afternoon.

On June 30th, a campus land donation ceremony between Dongmyung University and Gyeongsang National University was held.

The event was attended by about 100 people, including Seo Ui-taek, Chairman of the Dongmyung Cultural Foundation, Jeon Ho-hwan, President of Dongmyung University, Kwon Soon-ki, President of Gyeongsang National University, Lee Hee-cheon, Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, and key personnel from both universities and major animal hospitals.

The program included a welcome speech by Seo Ui-taek, Chairman of the Dongmyung Cultural Foundation, a commemorative speech by President Kwon Soon-ki, greetings by President Jeon Ho-hwan, congratulatory remarks by Oh Eun-taek, Mayor of Nam-gu, Busan, and Lee Young-rak, President of the Busan Veterinary Association, a congratulatory video screening featuring Park Hyung-joon, Mayor of Busan, Park Soo-young, Member of the National Assembly, and Heo Ju-hyung, President of the Korean Veterinary Medical Association, and a progress report by Lee Hee-cheon, Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Gyeongsang National University.

The event continued for about an hour with the viewing of a video produced collaboratively by students from both universities and the signing of the land donation confirmation.

Jeon Ho-hwan, President of Dongmyung University, emphasized the significance of the university animal hospital construction as a representative model where the university contributes to securing infrastructure so that citizens in the southeastern region can enjoy a higher quality of life.

President Jeon described it as “a new ultra-wide-area cooperation model breaking down the barriers between local governments, national universities, and private universities that no one has attempted before,” adding, “With the support and cooperation of Busan City, the construction of a pet park, pet kindergarten, pet art museum on adjacent idle land near the animal hospital, as well as startups such as pet product grooming hotels and cafes, will activate the pet industry, a new growth engine for Busan, and create new jobs.”

Kwon Soon-ki, President of Gyeongsang National University, stated, “The Gyeongsang National University Busan Animal Hospital will set a milestone in the history of universities, veterinary medicine, and the companion animal industry in Korea.”

President Kwon said, “This marks a new turning point for the companion animal industry and animal life sciences development in Busan, Eastern Gyeongnam, and Ulsan regions,” and expressed gratitude to Seo Ui-taek, Chairman of the Dongmyung Cultural Foundation, and its board for their decision to donate private foundation assets to a national institution to make a significant contribution to related industry development, as well as to Park Hyung-joon, Mayor of Busan, and Park Soo-young, Member of the National Assembly.

To maximize the economic effects and educational value of the animal hospital construction, Dongmyung University established the only College of Companion Animals nationwide for the 2023 academic year. In 2024, the college will recruit new students for three departments: Companion Animal Health, Dog Grooming and Behavior Correction, and Companion Animal Industry.

Plans are also underway to open a master's program related to companion animals in 2024, a doctoral program in 2025, and to apply for a teacher training program in 2024.

Although the number of households raising companion animals is rapidly increasing domestically, there is only one university animal hospital in the Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam area with a population of 8 million, which is the Gyeongsang National University Animal Medical Center located in Jinju, Gyeongnam.

The project to build the Gyeongsang National University University Animal Hospital Busan Branch on the Dongmyung University campus was approved on June 1st in the ‘2024 Ministry of Education Private Investment Project Review.’

Dongmyung University will donate the area around Yongdang-dong, Nam-gu, which is university land, to Gyeongsang National University free of charge, and Gyeongsang National University will actively support the establishment of departments for training companion animal medical personnel.

The new university animal hospital will be built on Dongmyung University land with a project cost of 36.6 billion KRW, consisting of one basement floor and four above-ground floors, with a total floor area of 9,000 square meters.

By the end of this year, the project cost will be reflected as a 2024 lease-type private investment project (BTL) in the National Assembly, with construction starting in June 2024. The expected construction period is 20 months, with completion scheduled for April 2026.

Previously, in March 2022, Dongmyung University, Gyeongsang National University, and Busan City signed a joint cooperation agreement for the construction of the university animal hospital and, after completing feasibility and economic analyses, have been negotiating with the Ministry of Education and others to secure the budget.

Dongmyeong University Campus.

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