"Training Occupational Medicine Specialists to Secure Workforce for Industrial Accident Hospitals"
Korea University of Technology and Education (KOREATECH), a national university under the Ministry of Employment and Labor, is planning to establish a College of Occupational Medicine to train specialists in occupational medicine in collaboration with 10 industrial accident hospitals nationwide.
On the 14th, Yoo Gil-sang, president of KOREATECH, held a meeting with reporters from the Ministry of Employment and Labor at KOREATECH’s second campus in Cheonan, Chungnam, and announced this plan, stating it is "to facilitate the securing of medical personnel for industrial accident hospitals and to support the financial soundness of industrial accident insurance."
KOREATECH, founded in 1991 with government funding, is a four-year private university responsible for training vocational competency development instructors. In 2022, it established the Department of Industrial Safety Engineering and also trains professionals in the field of industrial safety.
President Yoo explained that the goal of establishing a Department of Occupational Medicine was included in the mid- to long-term university development plan formulated in 1989, before the university’s opening, indicating that the establishment of a medical school has long been envisioned.
He added that they are currently preparing by forming a task force (TF) with the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, which operates industrial accident hospitals, and after about a year of internal review, they will formally negotiate with the government to proceed concretely.
Currently, under the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service, there are 10 industrial accident hospitals located in Incheon, Changwon, Suncheon, Daejeon, Taebaek, and other areas.
Yoo Gil-sang, President of Korea University of Technology and Education, is explaining the university's vision, including the establishment of the College of Industrial Medicine, at the second campus in Cheonan, Chungnam on the 14th. [Photo by Ministry of Employment and Labor Press Corps]
KOREATECH stated that as industrial accidents have increased, with a 42% rise in industrial accident claims over the past five years, the demand for occupational medicine specialists has also grown; however, only about 30 specialists graduate annually.
The university explained that synergy is expected between KOREATECH’s advanced engineering technology and the rehabilitation facility infrastructure of industrial accident hospitals, and that by utilizing industrial accident hospitals as training hospitals and employing some of their doctors as clinical professors, establishing a medical school is possible at minimal cost.
President Yoo expressed hope, saying, "We are not creating a new hospital but utilizing existing hospitals," and added, "This will enable stable staffing of industrial accident hospitals and provide high-quality medical services."
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