Candidate Choi Dae-jip, Mokpo Medical School Virtually Collapsed... Urges Candidate Kim Won-i to Withdraw

Jeonnam Province's Medical School Selection Through Public Contest Is Essentially a Formality to Attract a Medical School to Suncheon

"Candidate Kim Won-i's Key Pledge, Mokpo Medical School, Is Essentially Collapsed; Candidate Must Take Responsibil

Choi Dae-jip, the Sonamudang candidate for Mokpo City National Assembly, officially urged on the morning of the 3rd at 11 a.m. in front of Sangdong Formo Cube that Kim Won, whose top core pledge for the past several years was the attraction of Mokpo Medical School, should take responsibility for the fact that the plan has practically collapsed and resign.

Candidate Choi stated, “On the 2nd, Kim Young-rok, Governor of Jeollanam-do, overturned the existing proposal for an integrated medical school in the Jeonnam region and the agreement for a joint single medical school integrating Mokpo University and Suncheon University, and officially announced the selection of the Jeonnam medical school through an open competition within the province.” He explained, “The selection of the medical school through an open competition is analyzed as merely a formality to attract the medical school to the Suncheon area. There are criticisms that the residents of Mokpo, who believed in the existing agreement, have been practically betrayed.”

Candidate Choi Dae-jip is urging candidate Kim Won-i to withdraw during a campaign rally in front of Sangdong Formo Cube.
[Photo by Choi Dae-jip Candidate Election Office]

Through a statement announced at the campaign site on the same day, he said, “Regarding this situation, Kim Won, the Democratic Party candidate who has been shouting for the attraction of Mokpo Medical School throughout his four-year term, should take full responsibility.”

He continued, “Based on my experience as president of the Korean Medical Association, I pointed out that in order to attract a medical school, Mokpo must first establish infrastructure capable of serving as a training hospital.” He questioned, “If more attention had been paid to building medical infrastructure within the region from the beginning, wouldn’t there have been no problem in attracting the medical school to Mokpo by any means, including the open competition? And even if the attraction of the medical school had failed, wouldn’t at least the asset of regional medical infrastructure have remained?”

He added, “To be clear, the current implementation of the open competition procedure is no different from simply handing over the medical school to Suncheon.” He insisted, “Candidate Kim Won should not just express regret in words but acknowledge that his top core pledge has collapsed and take responsibility by resigning from the candidacy and retiring from politics.”

Candidate Choi Dae-jip pledged, “If elected as a member of the National Assembly, I will devote all efforts to immediately stopping the deceptive open competition procedure that could potentially harm the residents of Mokpo twice.” He promised, “Afterwards, I will start the attraction of the medical school again in my own way and promise this to the citizens of Mokpo.”