North Gyeongsang Province held a support council meeting Tuesday at the provincial government building in Andong to advance plans for establishing a medical school at Gyeongkuk National University.
About 20 officials attended the meeting, including Hwang Myeong-seok, the province's administrative vice governor, along with representatives from Andong, Yecheon-gun, Gyeongkuk National University and the North Gyeongsang Research Institute.
The council was expanded and reorganized from an earlier consultative body involving only the province, Andong and Gyeongkuk National University to include Yecheon-gun and the North Gyeongsang Research Institute, establishing a broader regional cooperation framework for the medical school project.
Despite being the largest metropolitan administrative unit in the country by area, North Gyeongsang Province has only 1.4 doctors per 1,000 residents — well below the national average of 2.3. Many areas face poor access to medical care, making it urgent to close the healthcare gap between regions.
The province has persistently urged the National Assembly to recognize the need for a new regional medical school, worked alongside a provincial civic campaign group to build public support, and pressed the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Education for backing, laying the groundwork for the school's establishment.
The project calls for building a medical school with an enrollment of up to 100 students and an affiliated 500-bed hospital on a site in the North Gyeongsang provincial government new town. It is a key campaign pledge of Gov. Lee Cheol-woo, who is serving his second consecutive term.
Participants agreed that establishing the medical school is a core task not only for expanding healthcare infrastructure in the new town but also for promoting balanced regional development and guaranteeing residents' right to health and life. They resolved to pursue key goals — including securing the new school and building the affiliated hospital — in a coordinated manner, with each institution taking on defined responsibilities.
"North Gyeongsang Province, Andong and Gyeongkuk National University have been consistently visiting the National Assembly and central government ministries to make the case for a new national medical school," Hwang said. "We will do our utmost, working together with all relevant institutions, to ensure the establishment of the Gyeongkuk National University medical school is confirmed as soon as possible."
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