50.34% of Suncheon National University Students Vote in Favor of Merger with Mokpo National University

Re-vote on University Merger Held Among Students on the 16th
Ministry of Education Review Process to Begin
Establishment of National Medical School in South Jeolla Expected to Accelerate

More than half of the students at Suncheon National University in South Jeolla Province have expressed support for a merger with Mokpo National University. The establishment of a new national medical school, which is being promoted alongside the merger of the two universities, is also expected to gain further momentum.

According to Suncheon National University on January 16, the university held a re-vote among students regarding their approval or disapproval of the merger. Out of a total of 6,328 students, 3,127 (49.42%) participated in the vote. Among them, 1,574 students (50.34%) voted in favor, while 1,553 students (49.66%) opposed the merger. The approval narrowly surpassed the required threshold of 50%.

In the previous vote held on December 23 last year, the majority (60.7%) of students had opposed the merger.

Suncheon National University had decided that the merger would be considered approved by the entire university community only if more than 50% of all three groups-faculty, staff, and students-voted in favor. As a result, a re-vote was conducted among students, ultimately securing their approval.

Suncheon National University and Mokpo National University plan to submit the relevant documents and applications together to the Ministry of Education for review of the merger. With the outcome of this vote, the establishment of a medical school in South Jeolla Province, which has been promoted by the province and the two universities, is also expected to accelerate.

Meanwhile, the Health and Medical Policy Deliberation Committee of the Ministry of Health and Welfare is currently discussing next year’s medical school enrollment quota, based on reports such as the Physician Workforce Supply and Demand Estimation Committee report released at the end of last month. South Jeolla Province and others are expecting quota allocations, citing the university merger efforts as grounds for their request.