Hong Nampyo, Changwon Special City Mayor, "Will Make Every Effort to Establish Changwon Medical School"

Welcome the Government's Announcement on 'Expansion of Essential Regional Medical Workforce'

Hong Nampyo, Mayor of Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam, welcomed the government's mention of expanding regional essential medical personnel at the Regional Complete Essential Medical Innovation Strategy Meeting on the 19th and expressed anticipation for the establishment of Changwon Medical School.

Hong Nampyo, Mayor of Changwon Special City, Gyeongnam.

The number of medical school quotas per 100,000 population in Gyeongsangnam-do is 2.3, less than half of the national average of 5.9. As a result, 14 out of 18 cities and counties in Gyeongnam are classified as medically vulnerable areas, making the establishment of medical personnel training institutions urgently needed.

To establish Changwon Medical School, the city has been operating the Changwon Medical School Attraction Pan-Citizen Promotion Committee since March and is conducting a campaign to collect one million signatures from one million citizens. Changwon City is cooperating jointly with Gyeongsangnam-do to attract the medical school, and various sectors of citizens, including the business and religious communities, are also making efforts.

Mayor Hong emphasized, “Changwon is the only city among non-metropolitan cities with a population of over one million that does not have a medical school. There are no institutions for training medical professionals such as dental or Korean medicine schools, and in Gyeongnam with a population of 3.28 million, there is only one medical school with a quota of 76 students at Gyeongsang National University.”

He added, “Due to the shortage of medical professionals, 200,000 patients annually travel from Gyeongsangnam-do to the metropolitan area for medical treatment. Changwon Gyeongsang National University Hospital cannot maintain a 24-hour pediatric emergency medical system, and Masan Medical Center has been unable to find doctors to work at its cardiovascular center, leaving the plastic wrap on diagnostic equipment purchased in 2019 unopened.”

Mayor Hong stated, “Changwon City is making efforts to establish Changwon Medical School without being bound by any form. The establishment of the medical school is planned to complete a regionally self-sufficient medical system.”

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