Jeonnam Integrated National University Medical School to Be Established Swiftly

Kim Yongbeom, Policy Chief, Jeonnam Governor, and University Presidents Meet
Approval for University Integration, Medical School Opening in 2027
Joint Effort to Establish University Hospitals

On December 17, Jeollanam-do announced that, during a meeting presided over by Kim Yongbeom, Policy Chief of the Presidential Office, Jeollanam-do Governor Kim Youngrok, Mokpo National University President Song Hacheol, and Suncheon National University President Lee Byungwoon agreed to swiftly establish the "Jeonnam Integrated National University Medical School."

The participants shared the view that establishing an integrated national university medical school in Jeollanam-do-currently the largest medically underserved region in the country and the only metropolitan government without a medical school-would not only help bridge regional healthcare disparities, but also serve as a starting point for strengthening local, essential, and public healthcare to overcome the crisis of regional extinction.

In particular, they reached a consensus on applying a "flexible integration" model in which Mokpo National University and Suncheon National University would be operated as a single integrated university, while each campus president would retain autonomy and independence. They also discussed the method of appointing campus presidents.

Additionally, they agreed to work together to ensure that the integrated national university medical school opens in the 2027 academic year, that the new medical school is allocated at least 100 students, and that university hospitals equipped with advanced general hospital functions and at least 500 beds each are established in both the eastern and western regions as quickly as possible.

They also concurred that, considering this is the nation's first "glocal university integration" model, the integrated university should be systematically fostered by the government to become a regional innovation hub and a key national university for balanced national development, in connection with the "Creating 10 Seoul National Universities" policy.

The Presidential Office and Jeollanam-do plan to do their utmost to ensure that the state policy task of "establishing a medical school in a region without one" proceeds without delay, by thoroughly carrying out the necessary implementation procedures.