Muan County Council: "The plan to change the medical school establishment without principles must be immediately withdrawn"

"Promptly Confirm the Establishment of Mokpo National University College of Medicine"

"The Long-Standing Wish of Western Region Residents, a Decision Must Be Made to Establish Mokpo National University College of Medicine"

The Muan County Council (Chairman Kim Kyung-hyun) issued a statement on the 8th urging the prompt finalization of the "Mokpo National University College of Medicine Establishment Plan" in relation to the issue of attracting a medical school to the Jeonnam region.

This statement follows Jeonnam Governor Kim Young-rok's announcement on the 2nd, where he decided to change the policy for establishing a new medical school in the Jeonnam area from the existing "integrated medical school establishment" plan to a "standalone medical school establishment" plan through a public announcement.

In the statement, the council criticized, "The Jeonnam provincial government's decision to proceed with the establishment of the medical school through a public contest has caused great disappointment among the residents of the western Jeonnam region, who hope for harmony and mutual development among the people of Jeonnam," adding, "The shift to a public contest method can only be seen as a desperate measure by the Jeonnam government to avoid immediate political burdens."

Muan County Council is urging the prompt finalization of the "Plan to Establish the College of Medicine at Mokpo National University."
[Photo by Muan County Council]

They continued, "This change in the medical school establishment policy without consensus will not only deepen the regional conflict divided east and west over the medical school attraction but also seriously undermine the government's fundamental principle of publicness in increasing medical school quotas, leading only to distrust in the Jeonnam provincial government."

Furthermore, they explained, "Despite the absence of an emergency medical system and the shortage of essential medical personnel, the residents of our western region have endured inconvenience and suffering for decades, eagerly awaiting the establishment of a medical school," adding, "The establishment of the Mokpo National University College of Medicine aligns with the government's core national agenda in emergency medical care, 'building a regionally complete essential public medical system,' and the conditions such as verified policy feasibility and the will of the local residents have already matured."

They also stated, "The eastern region already holds a significant advantage over the west in terms of economic and industrial living foundations, and there are policy alternatives for emergency medical response desired by the eastern region, such as trauma centers and the establishment of Jeonnam University branch campuses, but the western region has no policy alternatives other than establishing a medical school," emphasizing, "Under the current circumstances, it is clear that this medical school establishment issue will only provoke extreme regional conflicts and push the right to life of the western residents to the brink."

The county council urged, "To prevent the once-in-30-years opportunity from being wasted, we call on the Jeonnam provincial government to withdraw the public contest policy and promptly finalize the establishment plan for the Mokpo National University College of Medicine, which has been the long-cherished wish of the residents of the western Jeonnam region."

In conclusion, they stated, "We will no longer tolerate the Jeonnam government's behavior of continuously deceiving the residents of the western region, including Muan County residents, under the guise of 'balanced development between east and west,'" and declared, "We will fight alongside the local residents until the establishment of the Mokpo National University College of Medicine is realized," ending the statement.

Muan = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Oh Hwan-joo just8440@asiae.co.kr