Hong Nampyo, Changwon Special Mayor, "Actively Welcomes the Expansion of Medical School Quotas by 2,000"

"Establishing Changwon Medical School Is an Urgent Task of Our Time"

Fostering Medical and Bio Industries as Future Growth Sectors

The government announced that starting from the 2025 academic year, the number of medical school admissions will be increased by 2,000 and will be concentrated mainly in medical schools outside the metropolitan area. Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam actively welcomed this on the 6th and stated that the establishment of a medical school in Changwon must also be reflected in essential medical policies.

Changwon is the only large city with a population of over one million outside the metropolitan area that does not have a medical school. Despite the government's announcement to expand medical school admissions, it believes that without establishing a new medical school, the effect will be minimal. Medical professionals in the region point out that there is only one medical school in Gyeongnam Province, so increasing admissions alone has limitations in meeting medical demand.

On the 2nd, the resolution rally urging the establishment of Changwon Medical School was held at the Grand Auditorium of the Global Lifelong Learning Center, Changwon National University.

In particular, with Gyeongsang National University, the responsible medical institution for the Gyeongnam region, being concentrated in western Gyeongnam, there is a unanimous consensus that establishing a medical school in the Changwon area is necessary to strengthen public medical services in central and eastern Gyeongnam.

Currently, Gyeongsang National University, the only medical school in Gyeongnam, has an admission quota of only 76 students. The number of medical school admissions per 100,000 people in Gyeongnam is 2.3, which is far below the national average of 5.9. Especially, although Gyeongnam ranks fourth in population nationwide, the number of doctors per 1,000 people is 1.74, significantly lower than the national average of 2.18. Furthermore, 14 out of 18 cities and counties in Gyeongnam are designated as emergency medical vulnerable areas.

The city expects that establishing a medical school will not only improve the regional medical level and resolve medical imbalances but also prevent the outflow of excellent local talent, attract external talent, and foster the medical and bio industries, which are promising new growth industries, thereby creating a turning point for securing future growth engines for Changwon.

Mayor Hong Nam-pyo said, “Every year, 200,000 patients from Gyeongnam travel to the metropolitan area for medical treatment. Establishing a medical school in Changwon is an urgent task that cannot be delayed,” and added, “We strongly request the establishment of a medical school in Changwon, which concerns the health and right to life of Changwon citizens and Gyeongnam residents.”

He also emphasized, “If people die because they cannot receive proper medical services due to living in different areas or lack of infrastructure, no one would want to live in that region. To prevent regional extinction and establish a complete essential medical system within the region, it is absolutely necessary to establish a medical school that can produce medical personnel locally.”