Kim Jungjae of People Power Party Proposes 'POSTECH Medical School Establishment Support Act'... Securing Medical Hub on East Coast of North Gyeongsang Province

Representative Kim Jungjae (People Power Party, Pohang Buk-gu) has proposed the "POSTECH Medical School Establishment Support Act."

According to the current "Medical Service Act" and "Higher Education Act," only those who graduate from universities certified by an accreditation agency (such as the Korean Institute of Medical Education and Evaluation) for medical, dental, oriental medicine, or nursing education programs are eligible to take the national examination.

Kim Jeongjae, member of the People Power Party.

The amendments to the "Medical Service Act" and "Higher Education Act" proposed by Kim Jungjae, also known as the "POSTECH Medical School Establishment Support Act," specify in law the preliminary accreditation system, which is currently based on a Presidential Decree.

The preliminary accreditation system is a mandatory process for establishing new medical schools, allowing universities intending to launch medical, dental, oriental medicine, or nursing programs to complete evaluation and accreditation of their curricula before the programs begin operation.

If the preliminary accreditation system did not exist, a loophole would arise in which graduates of newly established medical schools would not be eligible to take the national examination until the school received accreditation. This preliminary accreditation system is currently based on the Presidential Decree titled "Regulations on Evaluation and Accreditation of Higher Education Institutions."

However, there have been concerns that expanding the accreditation system, as stipulated by higher laws such as the "Medical Service Act" and "Higher Education Act," through subordinate regulations like Presidential Decrees, is inconsistent with the legal system and lacks a solid legal basis.

Therefore, by amending the "Medical Service Act" and "Higher Education Act," Kim Jungjae aims to clearly specify the legal grounds for the operation of this system, ensuring its stable operation and preparing the necessary institutional framework for the establishment of new medical schools.

Representative Kim hosted two forums on the establishment of medical schools to train physician-scientists during the 21st National Assembly, in 2021 and 2023. Additionally, as a member of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts in 2023, he emphasized the necessity of establishing a POSTECH medical school for training physician-scientists to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Health and Welfare.

Kim Jungjae stated, "In this era of local extinction, especially to prevent the collapse of regional healthcare, it is essential to secure local medical hubs," emphasizing, "Institutional improvements are absolutely necessary to establish the POSTECH medical school as a key medical hub in the East Coast megaregion of North Gyeongsang Province, which is considered a medically underserved area."

He added, "The amendment proposed today is the first step toward establishing the POSTECH medical school," and pledged, "I will do my best to prepare the necessary institutional framework and support measures for the establishment of the POSTECH medical school."

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