Assemblyman Kim Won-i's Solo Appeal in Front of the Presidential Office: "Establish a Medical School in Jeonnam Region"

No More Island Residents Missing the Golden Time... Request for New Medical School in Jeonnam Region

Kim Won-i, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Mokpo City, Health and Welfare Committee), made a solo appeal on the morning of the 16th in front of the Presidential Office in Yongsan, Seoul, urging the establishment of a medical school in the Jeonnam region and the attraction of Mokpo Medical School.

With the government’s plan to increase the quota for medical schools expected to be announced soon, Representative Kim directly appealed in front of the Presidential Office that if a medical school is not established in the Jeonnam region, the only area nationwide without a medical school, the poor medical conditions in Jeonnam cannot be improved.

Kim Won-i is making a solo appeal in front of the Yongsan Presidential Office on the morning of the 16th.
[Photo by Kim Won-i's office]

Representative Kim Won-i said, “Although it is belated, I welcome the government’s plan to increase the medical school quota. The 1.81 million residents of Jeonnam Province, including the citizens of Mokpo, are keenly watching the increase in medical school quotas as well as the long-cherished establishment of a medical school in the Jeonnam region and the attraction of Mokpo Medical School, which has been hoped for over the past 30 years.”

He continued, “The medical reality in Jeonnam is on the verge of collapse. The number of doctors per 1,000 people in Jeonnam is 1.7, which is far below the OECD average of 3.7 and the South Korean average of 2.5. The transfer rate of severe emergency patients at regional emergency medical centers is 4.7% nationwide, but in Jeonnam, it is 9.7%, more than twice as high,” emphasizing the region’s poor medical conditions.

Representative Kim strongly appealed for the necessity of establishing a medical school in the Jeonnam region, stating, “Despite this situation, the medical school quota for Jeonnam is zero. Jeonnam is the only local government nationwide without a medical school.”

Furthermore, he earnestly requested the Presidential Office and the government, saying, “There is only one solution: Jeonnam must have an independent medical workforce training system. The establishment of a medical school in the Jeonnam region, the attraction of Mokpo Medical School, and the simultaneous promotion of an affiliated university hospital must be pursued.”

Representative Kim Won-i added, “The value of life should not differ depending on where one lives. No more mothers should have to give birth inside doctor helicopters, and no more island residents should tragically lose their lives due to missed golden hours,” and he earnestly requested, “Please make sure to include the establishment of a medical school in the Jeonnam region, which currently has no medical school, in the plan to increase the number of doctors, so that the policy goals of expanding essential medical care, local medical care, and public medical care can be fully achieved.”

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