Pukyong National University College of Medicine and Gijang County to Promote Graduate School of Radiological Medicine

President's Regional Pledge Project, 'Radiation Specialized Medical School'

Joint Agreement Signing at Pukyong National University on the 28th at 3:30 PM

National Pukyong National University and Busan City’s Gijang-gun are promoting the ‘Radiation Specialized Medical School,’ a regional pledge project of the 20th presidential election.

National Pukyong National University will sign a joint agreement with Gijang-gun, Busan City, to promote the ‘Radiation Specialized Medical School,’ a presidential regional pledge project, under the system of a ‘Graduate School of Radiation Medicine.’

The signing ceremony for the ‘Promotion of Establishing a Graduate School of Radiation Medicine’ agreement will be held on the 28th at 3:30 PM in the President’s Office on the 3rd floor of the Pukyong National University headquarters, attended by Pukyong National University President Jang Young-su, Gijang-gun Mayor Jeong Jong-bok, Chairperson of the County Council Park Woo-sik, and other council members.

Pukyong National University explained that, based on the results of external expert research on the establishment and operation plans of the Radiation Medical and Science College it has been promoting, a research-focused 7-year MD-PhD system specialized in radiation medicine and precision medicine is appropriate.

Accordingly, it will be promoted as a Graduate School of Radiation Medicine with a capacity of 30 students, combining a 4-year Medical Doctor program for undergraduate graduates and a 3-year PhD program.

Gijang-gun, which will sign the agreement with Pukyong National University on this day, has agreed to provide the educational facility land within the Southeast Radiation Medical and Science Complex under development in Jangan-eup as the school site, and will form a consultative body with Pukyong National University to jointly promote the establishment of the Graduate School of Radiation Medicine as a joint project.

Aerial view of the Busan Gijang-gun Jangan-eup Pukyong National University Graduate School of Radiological Medicine and Gijang Campus.

Earlier, Pukyong National University, together with the County Council, jointly proposed the establishment of a global cancer treatment hub in the Gijang area as a pledge project for the 20th presidential election. The Presidential Transition Committee officially adopted five projects for the Busan area policy agenda in May last year, including the ‘Establishment of a Radiation Specialized Medical School’ and the ‘Construction of a Radiation Convergence Medical Device Center,’ formalizing the ‘Southeast Radiation Medical Science Cancer Treatment Hub Construction Project.’

Busan City also prepared detailed implementation plans and response strategies for the pledge execution following the Presidential Transition Committee’s policy, and the Busan Research Institute identified the establishment of a radiation medical school for training doctors and scientists as the top priority task and policy recommendation in its ‘Current Issues Research for Fostering Busan’s Convergent Radiation Industry.’

Pukyong National University expects significant synergy effects if the Southeast Regional Radiation Medical Center (Southeast Medical Center) is affiliated as a hospital upon the establishment of the medical school, and in 2021 signed a ‘Radiation Medical and Science Workforce Training Agreement’ with the Southeast Medical Center.

Since last year, the university has been operating ‘Radiation Convergent Medical Science’ and ‘Radiation Imaging and Therapeutic Devices’ as major courses for master’s and doctoral students in the graduate school’s Department of Medical Engineering, with medical and research staff from the Southeast Medical Center participating as lecturers.

Relevant legislation has already been prepared in the National Assembly, with the ‘Partial Amendment to the Radiation and Radioisotope Utilization Promotion Act’ and the ‘Act on the Establishment and Operation of Korean Radiation Medical Schools’ proposed by Assembly members Jeong Dong-man and Jeon Bong-jin, respectively, to promote the establishment of a medical school in the Southeast Radiation Medical and Science Complex.

President Jang Young-su of Pukyong National University said, “With today’s signing ceremony as a milestone, we will finalize the Radiation Specialized Medical School as a Graduate School of Radiation Medicine, adopted as a presidential pledge project in the Busan area, and work with Gijang-gun to ensure its establishment within the current government’s term.”