Mokpo City, Mokpo National University, and Mokpo City Council Emphasize Medical Vulnerability in Western Jeonnam Region

Need to Establish in Areas with More Difficult Access to Medical Resources... Must Be Selected as Mokpo University

Emphasizing the Vulnerable Medical Reality in the Western Region of Jeonnam Based on Government Data Including the Ministry of Health and Welfare

Position on Various Controversies During the Jeonnam Province Public Contest Process Revealed

Park Hong-ryul, Mayor of Mokpo, Song Ha-cheol, President of National Mokpo University, and Moon Cha-bok, Chairman of Mokpo City Council, held a joint press conference at 10 a.m. on the 23rd in the Mokpo City Hall Situation Room to promote the establishment of a national medical school at Mokpo University.

This press conference was organized to clarify the positions of Mokpo City, Mokpo University, and the Mokpo City Council regarding the attraction of a national medical school in Jeollanam-do, and to explain the poor medical conditions in the western region of Jeonnam to the government, Jeonnam Province, and local residents using official government data.

Mokpo City has been requesting the government for 34 years to establish a national medical school and university hospital at Mokpo University. The establishment of a national medical school in Jeonnam became a reality following President Yoon Seok-yeol’s mention at the Jeollanam-do public discussion in March and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s medical reform dialogue statement.

Currently, Jeollanam-do is preparing related procedures to select a government-recommended university through a public competition. In this regard, Mayor Park Hong-ryul stated, “While respecting Jeonnam Province’s stance on the public competition method, the establishment process of the national medical school must proceed smoothly according to the planned schedule to ensure that the life rights of the residents are not neglected.”

(From left) Song Hacheol, President of Mokpo National University; Park Hongryul, Mayor of Mokpo; Moon Chabok, Chairman of Mokpo City Council, are holding a joint press conference regarding the attraction of the National Medical School to Mokpo National University.
[Photo by Mokpo City]

On this day, Mokpo City, Mokpo University, and the Mokpo City Council objectively analyzed the vulnerable medical conditions in the western region of Jeonnam based on official government data, revealing that the western region of Jeonnam, including Mokpo City, is clearly a medically underserved area compared to the eastern region.

First, they emphasized that the western region of Jeonnam is vulnerable in childbirth and emergency medical care compared to the eastern region. In the eastern region of Jeonnam, 4 out of 6 cities and counties are vulnerable in childbirth and 3 are vulnerable in emergency medical care, whereas in the western region, 9 out of 10 cities and counties, excluding Mokpo, are vulnerable in both childbirth and emergency medical care.

They further explained that medical demand is more limited. The western region of Jeonnam has higher proportions of elderly people aged 65 and over, dementia patients, and severely disabled individuals, who are medically vulnerable groups. Economically, the gross regional product within the western region is only 37.5% of that of the eastern region, and the fiscal independence rate is lower, indicating relative limitations in financial investment in public medical services.

Geographically, the western region is larger in area than the eastern region and has many islands, making healthcare services generally vulnerable in emergency situations.

Third, they pointed out difficulties in accessing medical resources. The total number of medical institutions and doctors in the western region of Jeonnam is insufficient compared to the eastern region. Regarding specialized hospitals, there is no industrial accident specialized general hospital in the western region, whereas one operates in the eastern region.

In the western region, the proportion of the population unable to access tertiary general hospitals within the standard time of 180 minutes is also high, indicating limitations in guaranteeing the right to life.

They also added that emergency patient transport is more difficult and access to medical services is more restricted.

The treatable mortality rate according to OECD standards, caused by lack of quality medical services, in the western region approaches about 50%, which is higher than both the eastern region and the Jeonnam average. Additionally, outpatient medical expenses outside the administrative districts of cities and counties are 217.1 billion KRW higher in the western region, indicating more severe outflow of medical expenses.

Lastly, they discussed the higher risks of industrial accidents and musculoskeletal diseases in the western region of Jeonnam.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor’s accident rate analysis, the nine cities and counties under the jurisdiction of the Mokpo branch office have an accident rate of 0.92%, which is higher than the average of 0.59% in the Yeosu branch office jurisdiction and the national average of 0.65%.

Nationally, regions with high accident rates are mostly areas where labor-intensive industries such as mining and shipbuilding are developed. In the future, regions like Mokpo, Haenam, and Sinan, where wind turbine assembly and offshore wind power plant construction are planned, are likely to see an increase in accident rates.

Mayor Park Hong-ryul said, “Establishing a national medical school and national university hospital, which are public health medical institutions, in the most medically vulnerable area confirmed by official government indicators is the way to build a regionally complete medical system and secure the health and life rights of all residents.” He added, “We will do our utmost to ensure that the long-awaited national medical school and university hospital are established at Mokpo University.”

He also stated, “When developing and evaluating the public competition indicators for medical schools in the Jeonnam area, we propose that Jeonnam Province apply the ordinance on the development and utilization of balanced development indicators to reflect regional balanced development indicators.”

Song Ha-cheol, President of Mokpo University, emphasized, “We judge that there is no legal issue with Jeonnam Province’s public competition procedure. Since the lives of citizens are equally precious, while recognizing the need for a large hospital in the eastern region, the issue is which region the government should first establish a national medical school to protect residents’ lives. Therefore, the medical school must be established at Mokpo University.”

Additionally, Moon Cha-bok, Chairman of Mokpo City Council, stated, “We will closely cooperate with Mokpo City, Mokpo University, and the Mokpo City Council to ensure that the long-awaited medical school is attracted to Mokpo University.”