Mokpo National University Hosts 'Our Future Lies in the Regions' Mijidap Forum

Creating a Forum for Public Discussion on Local Revitalization and Regional Balanced Development

High Local Interest Confirmed in Attracting the National Mokpo University College of Medicine

President Song Hacheol: "There Are Many More Patients in the Western Region Who Need National Assistance"

National Mokpo University (President Song Ha-cheol) participated in the Mijidap (Our Future, the Answer Lies in the Regions) Forum on the 21st to attract a medical school to National Mokpo University.

According to Mokpo University on the 22nd, the Mijidap Forum, meaning "Finding the Answer in the Regions for Our Future," is a newly established forum to create a public discussion platform for regional revitalization and balanced regional development.

This aligns with National Mokpo University's vision for establishing a medical school, which has been striving for 34 years to attract a national medical school to overcome the crisis of regional extinction, guarantee the basic health rights of local residents, and promote balanced development in Jeonnam.

National Mokpo University Medical School Attraction Becomes the Foundation for Jeonnam's Development Forum participants are performing a wishful act for the attraction of the medical school.
[Photo by Mokpo University]

Under the theme "Attracting National Mokpo University Medical School as the Foundation for Jeonnam's Development," the forum held at the Glocal Startup Center Auditorium on the Namak Campus of National Mokpo University was conducted in two parts, with about 300 Jeonnam residents attending, demonstrating the high local interest in attracting the medical school.

The first part of the Mijidap Forum began with an opening address by Lee Seong-cheol, president of Hankook Ilbo, followed by congratulatory speeches from Park Hong-ryul, Mayor of Mokpo; Seo Sam-seok, Member of the National Assembly; Park Woo-ryang, Mayor of Sinan County; Kim San, Mayor of Muan County; a keynote speech by Song Ha-cheol, President of National Mokpo University; and a performance to promote the attraction of the medical school.

The second part included lectures on the long-cherished wish of Jeonnam residents for the medical school (Park Jeong-hee, head of the National Mokpo University Medical School Attraction Team), strategies for establishing a regionally complete healthcare system (Lim Jun, director of the Public Medical Project at Incheon Medical Center), and the impact of national medical schools on balanced regional development (Oh Young-ho, research fellow at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs), followed by a panel discussion on "Establishment of National Medical Schools and University Hospitals and the Development of the Western Jeonnam Region."

Lee Seong-cheol, President of Hankook Ilbo, Park Hong-ryul, Mayor of Mokpo, Seo Sam-seok, Member of the National Assembly, Park Woo-ryang, Governor of Sinan County, Kim San, Governor of Muan County, Kim Kyung-hyun, Chairman of Muan County Council, and Song Ha-cheol, President of National Mokpo University, are taking a commemorative photo.
[Photo by Mokpo University]

In his keynote speech, Song Ha-cheol, president of Mokpo University, stated, "National Mokpo University officially requested the Ministry of Education on May 19, 1990, to allocate 80 medical school seats, reflecting the hopes of local residents whose lives were threatened without doctors. During the 1990s alone, we made seven official requests for seat allocations," adding, "Both President Lee Myung-bak and President Park Geun-hye included the establishment of Mokpo University Medical School as a campaign promise in their presidential elections."

He continued, "Since the 29th governor of Jeonnam, Koo Yong-sang, in 1994, successive governors of Jeollanam-do have promoted the establishment of the medical school at Mokpo University," emphasizing, "National Mokpo University has kept 50,000 pyeong of land on the Mokpo campus vacant for 34 years, waiting to establish the medical school and university hospital to eliminate the region's medical disparities and make it a livable area for residents."

He further explained, "Although the eastern region claims to have a larger population, the western region has significantly more patients requiring national assistance compared to the eastern region. The number of industrial accident patients, cited as a basis for attracting a medical school to the eastern region, is only about 100 fewer annually in the western region, a negligible difference. However, the number of elderly patients and rural fishing and farming populations suffering from musculoskeletal diseases who need national support is much higher, resulting in a significantly higher treatable mortality rate in the western region compared to the eastern region."

He added, "If the long-cherished National Mokpo University Medical School and university hospital, a wish of the Jeonnam region for the past 34 years, are established, the excellent medical personnel trained locally will raise the medical standards in the underdeveloped western region, making it a livable area and laying the foundation for balanced regional development," and pledged, "I and the members of Mokpo University will continue to devote ourselves wholeheartedly to protecting the lives of 1.8 million Jeonnam residents in rural and island areas."

Meanwhile, National Mokpo University and Mokpo City plan to hold a joint press conference in Mokpo on the 23rd to announce their overall stance on attracting the Jeonnam medical school.

A performance to promote the attraction of the National Mokpo University Medical School is underway.