No Medical School in the Southwestern Region... No System for Training Doctors
"Citizens of Mokpo Have Been Calling for 35 Years"
Jeon Kyungseon, Jeonnam Provincial Assembly Member (left in photo). Screenshot from Assembly Member Jeon's Facebook.
Following the recent rejection of the proposed merger between Mokpo National University and Suncheon National University, Jeon Kyungseon, a member of the Jeonnam Provincial Council (Democratic Party of Korea, Mokpo 5), has called for the need to pursue the establishment of an independent medical school at Mokpo National University.
On December 26, Council Member Jeon stated on his Facebook page, "The citizens of Mokpo have never once demanded a university merger," and added, "For the past 35 years, what we have consistently demanded is solely the establishment of a medical school at Mokpo National University and the creation of an affiliated university hospital."
He continued, "Nevertheless, the issue of university integration suddenly became entangled in the middle of the discussion about attracting a medical school, which blurred the essence of the matter and left only conflict in the region. University integration was not the demand of Mokpo citizens. It was neither the starting point, the goal, nor the answer in these discussions."
In particular, Council Member Jeon emphasized, "The facts are simple. There is no medical school in the southwestern region of Jeonnam, and emergency patients are still being transferred to other areas. The demand from Mokpo citizens for the past 35 years has been to change the reality that there is no system for training doctors in the region."
He also said, "If the failure of the merger means we must also abandon efforts to attract a medical school, that is not a policy failure but an evasion of political responsibility. I have never changed my position: the goal is to establish an independent medical school at Mokpo National University."
In conclusion, Council Member Jeon added, "Now is the time for politics to respond to the demands of the citizens of Mokpo."
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