Application submitted to Ministry of Education
Amid stalled talks over integrating national universities in South Jeolla Province, Suncheon National University has submitted an application to establish a medical school and affiliated hospital — regardless of the outcome of its merger negotiations with Mokpo National University.
Suncheon National University announced Tuesday that it had officially submitted a "plan to establish a medical school and educational (affiliated) hospital" to the Jeonnam-Gwangju integrated special city authority.
The university prepared and submitted the plan in accordance with the government's three criteria for selecting institutions to host a new medical school: establishing a national university within the relevant city or province, a one-university-one-hospital principle, and geographic proximity.
The proposal includes detailed plans covering the need for a new medical school in the region and its intended enrollment size, plans for securing medical school facilities and an educational hospital, the responsibilities of the medical school and affiliated hospital, and local government support.
Earlier, the government designated two candidate regions — South Jeolla Province (Mokpo National University and Suncheon National University) and North Gyeongsang Province (Gyeongkuk University) — for new regional national medical schools to open from the 2030 academic year, as part of efforts to address healthcare disparities between regions. It directed the relevant local governments and national universities to jointly prepare and submit their proposals by Thursday.
Reform Party lawmaker Cheon Ha-ram urged the government to make a decision based on quantitative criteria, saying, "With the two universities — one in the eastern region and one in the western region — in conflict, the government must make a determination using objective standards."
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