Jeonnam Province's Long-Awaited Project 'Attracting National Medical University' Gains Support from All Residents

Launch of the Provincial Citizens' Promotion Committee

The entire Jeonnam province united to achieve the long-cherished goal of attracting a national medical school.

On the 28th, according to Jeonnam Province, the launch ceremony of the Jeonnam Province National Medical School Establishment Promotion Committee and an expert forum were held at the Namak Sky Wedding Convention Center.

The Promotion Committee consists of about 300 members, including policy experts representing Jeonnam residents, the business community, academia, resident representatives, and civil society organizations. Going forward, they plan to pool the capabilities and will of the residents to fully commit to attracting the national medical school.

The co-chairpersons are Heo Jeong, director of Eden Hospital; Joo Sang-yoon, president of the Jeonnam Social Organizations Federation; Lee Joo-hee, president of Dongshin University; and Kang Yoon-sung, president of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Provincial Residents Association. Advisors include Choi Soon-mo, president of the National Honam Hometown Association Federation. Executive directors appointed are Beom Hee-seung, director of Hwasun County Nursing Hospital at Chonnam National University Hospital, and Myung Chang-hwan, vice governor of Jeonnam Province.

The Promotion Committee will lead the effort to attract the national medical school within the province by utilizing the networks of affiliated organizations or individuals as regional representatives and focus on consolidating the residents’ capabilities for the attraction. They also plan to actively engage in activities such as National Assembly policy debates, public statements, and rallies to expand national consensus.

At the expert forum held that day, executive director Beom Hee-seung, a physician operating a hospital in the province, emphasized the necessity of establishing a national medical school in Jeonnam to revive local and essential medical services, citing the concentration of medical personnel in the metropolitan area and the shortage of doctors in the region as examples.

He received great response by introducing the case where Lakehead University and Laurentian University in northern Ontario, Canada, cooperated to establish a single medical school.

Jeonnam Governor Kim Young-rok congratulated the launch of the Promotion Committee and personally presented the vision for establishing a medical school in the province under the theme “The establishment of a national medical school in Jeonnam Province is absolutely necessary.”

Governor Kim said, “I appreciate the regional representatives stepping forward to lead the attraction of the national medical school,” and resolved, “Let us achieve the establishment of the medical school in the province with the solemn determination of the 300 warriors in the movie ‘300.’”

He also stated, “The health and life rights of residents are constitutional rights that must not be discriminated against,” and added, “The establishment of a national medical school is essential to train doctors tailored to the region, protect patients’ golden time, and serve as the command center for regional public healthcare.”

Furthermore, he strongly urged, “The government’s plan to expand medical school quotas centered on existing medical schools means that Jeonnam, without a medical school, will remain ‘zero again from zero,’ which will deepen the residents’ sense of loss. When the government announces the increase in medical school quotas in January 2024, it must also confirm the establishment plan for a national medical school in Jeonnam with 100 students and announce the roadmap for its establishment.”

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