Democratic Party Jeonnam Lawmaker Urges Establishment of National Medical School in Jeonnam Region

Joint Press Conference Held at the National Assembly, Urging the Government

If the Regional Doctor System Is Not Implemented Concurrently, Only Metropolitan Cosmetic Surgeons Will Increase

All members of the Democratic Party of Korea's National Assembly representing Jeollanam-do held a joint press conference at the National Assembly on the morning of the 17th, urging the government to expand the number of medical school admissions and establish a national medical school in the Jeonnam region, which currently has no medical school.

At the conference, Representative Kim Won-i (Mokpo City) stated in his opening remarks, “The greatest concern of the 1.81 million residents of Jeonnam is whether a medical school will be established in Jeonnam, the only region in the country without a medical school.” He added, “We have organized this joint press conference to urge the government and the Ministry of Health and Welfare to establish a medical school in the Jeonnam region, a long-cherished wish of the people of Jeonnam for 30 years.”

Members of the Democratic Party of Korea from Jeonnam are holding a joint press conference, with Representative Kim Won giving the opening remarks.
[Photo by Representative Kim Won's Office]

The Democratic Party lawmakers from Jeonnam appealed to the dire medical situation, saying, “The healthcare reality in Jeonnam is on the verge of collapse. The number of doctors per 1,000 people in Jeonnam is 1.7, which is significantly lower than the OECD average of 3.7 and the national average of 2.5.” They continued, “The transfer rate of severe emergency patients at regional emergency medical centers is 4.7% nationwide, but in Jeonnam, it is 9.7%, more than twice the national average. The number of industrial accident deaths per 10,000 workers is also 1.6 times the national average.”

They further stated, “The Yoon Seok-yeol administration has set the establishment of a regionally self-sufficient medical system to resolve regional medical imbalances as a national agenda. Building such a system is only possible by simultaneously increasing medical school admissions, establishing a medical school in the Jeonnam region without one, and implementing a regional doctor system.”

Moreover, they expressed serious concerns, saying, “Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong has repeatedly promised to consider expanding medical school admissions along with establishing new medical schools and implementing a regional doctor system. However, despite recently announcing plans to increase medical school admissions, the minister has not provided a clear response regarding the establishment of a medical school in the Jeonnam region without one and the regional doctor system, which the government had previously promised to review.”

Finally, the lawmakers emphasized, “The expansion of medical school admissions must be accompanied by the establishment of a medical school in the Jeonnam region, which currently lacks one, and the introduction of a regional doctor system. If these measures are not considered together, the increase in medical school admissions will once again result in an increase only in cosmetic and plastic surgeons in the metropolitan area.”

The press release announced that day was co-signed by Democratic Party members of the National Assembly Kim Seung-nam, Kim Won-i, Kim Hoe-jae, Seo Dong-yong, Seo Sam-seok, So Byung-chul, Shin Jeong-hoon, Yoon Jae-gap, Lee Gae-ho, and Joo Cheol-hyun.