A medical school in Seoul [Yonhap]
A medical school in Seoul [Yonhap]

North Gyeongsang Province and the South Jeolla-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City have submitted plans to the Ministry of Education for new national medical schools. The government is expected to decide which region will host a new medical school as early as this month after reviewing both proposals.

The two regional governments submitted their plans to the Ministry of Education on Thursday.

North Gyeongsang Province is pursuing the creation of a medical school at Gyeongguk National University, targeting a 2030 opening. The province and the university prepared a proposal outlining the rationale for establishing the school, plans for securing faculty, and facility construction and operational arrangements.

The proposal includes a plan to secure 112 basic science and clinical professors needed to run the medical school, as well as site acquisition and construction plans for the school and its affiliated hospital, and a detailed operational roadmap timed to the opening date.

North Gyeongsang Province envisions building a 100-student medical school and a 500-bed affiliated hospital on the provincial government new town site in Andong and Yecheon. The total project cost is estimated at 489.5 billion won ($352 million), comprising 160.3 billion won for the medical school and 329.2 billion won for the affiliated hospital.

The South Jeolla-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City submitted its documents as a written opinion on matters under local government jurisdiction.

Mokpo National University and Suncheon National University are pursuing a merger to establish a new medical school but have yet to reach agreement on issues including the school's location. The South Jeolla-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City therefore submitted its opinion without specifying a location, focusing on three items: the need for a new medical school, the proposed enrollment size, and the local government's support plan.

The Ministry of Education has required the two universities to first agree on a merger plan — including the locations of the medical school and university hospital — before submitting a formal proposal, on the premise that the new medical school would be established within the merged institution.

The two universities agreed in November 2024 to merge in order to establish a medical school and have since held 14 rounds of merger negotiations. Separate talks on the medical school have also continued, but the two sides have been unable to narrow their differences over the school's location and other issues.

The Ministry of Education had selected North Gyeongsang Province and the South Jeolla-Gwangju region as candidates to receive an allocation of 100 medical school seats in 2030 under the government's national policy agenda of establishing medical schools in regions that currently lack one, setting Thursday as the submission deadline.

The government is expected to review the proposals and opinions submitted by both regional governments and decide on the site for the new national medical school as early as this month or next month.


quq@heraldcorp.com