Mokpo City Demands Strengthening of Public Medical System in Western Jeonnam Region

Medical Demand Found to Be More Limited Compared to Eastern Region

Mokpo City in Jeollanam-do revealed the medical reality of the western region of Jeollanam-do through an analysis of official government data.

This analysis focused on the total production within Jeollanam-do, monitoring of medically vulnerable areas, and the status of inhabited islands, using data from Health Map, the National Statistical Portal, and the Public Data Portal.

According to the analysis, the western region of Jeollanam-do has a lower population density and is geographically disadvantaged due to the distribution of islands compared to the eastern region.

(The second from the right) Mayor Park Hong-ryul and senior officials are performing a pledge to fully unite their efforts to attract the College of Medicine at Mokpo National University. Photo by Mokpo City

In particular, the western region showed relatively higher figures in the proportion of elderly aged 65 and over, the number of dementia patients, and the proportion of people with severe disabilities.

Additionally, the total production within the western region of Jeollanam-do is only about 37.5% of that of the eastern region, and due to low financial independence, it is facing difficulties in the public health care sector.

The analysis also revealed that the proportion of low-income residents and the bottom 20% of health insurance premium payers is high, resulting in many residents having difficulty accessing medical services.

In response, Mayor Park Hong-ryul emphasized the necessity of attracting the National Mokpo University Medical School and stated that the government must strengthen the public medical system to guarantee the life rights of local residents.

He also stressed, "In island areas, transportation is inconvenient, making it difficult to respond to emergency situations, highlighting the urgent need for countermeasures."

Based on these analysis results, Mokpo City is expected to work on improving the public medical environment in the western region, which is economically and geographically underdeveloped, focusing on medically vulnerable groups.