Jeonnam Province Publishes Results of 2021 Medical School Establishment Research Service

To Address Suspicions of Service Non-Disclosure, Posted on Provincial Website on the 13th

Mokpo-Suncheon City and Mokpo University-Suncheon University Urged to Foster Progressive Joint Cooperation and Communication

Jeonnam Province disclosed the results of the 'Study on the Establishment and Operation Plan of Jeollanam-do National Medical School and Affiliated Hospital' conducted in 2021 on the 13th.

The study results have been posted on the Jeonnam Province website and the Policy Research Management System (PRISM), allowing anyone to view them.

The 2021 study was carried out to establish the necessity of creating a medical school in Jeonnam Province, following the Moon Jae-in administration's promise to establish new medical schools in regions without one, and to use it as basic data for government proposals.

At the time of the study, the planned increase in enrollment was 400 students, which was prepared under conditions completely different from the current plan to increase by 2,000 students. It included the need for a medical school with an admission quota of 100 students for the entire province, not targeting a specific region, and an affiliated hospital with more than 500 beds.

Jeonnam Province judged that, at the important moment when the government’s university admission plan to be finalized in May must allocate '200 new admissions for the 2026 academic year for Jeollanam-do National Medical School,' joint cooperation among Mokpo National University, Suncheon National University, both universities, Mokpo City, and Suncheon City is necessary, and thus decided to disclose the 2021 study.

Regarding the reason for not disclosing the study despite requests from some regions, a Jeonnam Province official explained, "The study at that time was for the establishment of a medical school in Jeonnam itself, whereas the current study underway is to decide where to locate the medical school. Since the direction and goals differ, the previous data cannot be used now." He added, "We judged that if each region interprets and uses the study results biasedly according to their own interests without seeing the overall framework, it could escalate regional conflicts, so we kept it confidential."

On the reason for deciding to disclose the study, he said, "Some parties raised suspicions about the study and declared that they would reconsider their participation in the 'Selection of Recommended Universities by Public Competition' study, which Jeonnam Province is conducting at the government's request, on the condition of disclosure. Considering opinions from various experts and the media that disclosure would help resolve doubts, we comprehensively decided to make it public."

He added, "We hope that the disclosure of the study will facilitate the recommendation process requested by the government and that universities and local communities will unite their strength and wisdom to realize the establishment of Jeollanam-do National Medical School."

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