Suncheon pharmacists urge confirmation of Sunchon National University medical school
The Suncheon City Pharmacists Association on Friday accused Mokpo University of trying to reverse the selection of Sunchon National University as the candidate institution for a South Jeolla Province national medical school, saying the rival university had filed a lawsuit to cancel the selection and recommendation decision and sought a stay of execution.
The remarks targeted Mokpo University, which has mounted a broad legal offensive since the Gwangju-South Jeolla integrated special city commissioned the South Jeolla Research Institute on Aug. 30 to select Sunchon National University as the candidate institution for the provincial national medical school.
In a statement issued Friday, the association warned that if discussions over establishing a medical school were to sink into prolonged litigation and re-examination, "the harm will fall squarely on residents who cannot receive timely treatment, on medical workers struggling at the front lines of emergency and essential care, and on citizens in eastern South Jeolla Province who have long endured unequal access to healthcare."
The association also urged the prompt confirmation of the medical school at Sunchon National University, warning that efforts to relitigate the completed official evaluation and recommendation process — and to halt progress through a stay of execution — risk weakening the momentum for establishing a national medical school in South Jeolla Province and deepening regional conflict.
The association said the eastern South Jeolla region, centered on Suncheon, Yeosu and Gwangyang, is home to a concentrated population, industrial base, port facilities and tourism activity. It added that training specialized medical personnel and building a self-sufficient regional healthcare system are urgently needed to handle industrial accidents, severe trauma and critical emergency cases at the Yeosu-Gwangyang national industrial complexes and to sustain essential local medical services.
The association said it considers expanding the medical workforce and closing gaps in essential healthcare services tasks that can no longer be deferred, and it reiterated four demands.
It called on the government and the Ministry of Education to promptly confirm the establishment of a medical school at Sunchon National University and to move swiftly and responsibly on follow-up steps, including founding a university hospital. It also called on the Gwangju District Court to quickly dismiss the application for a stay of execution on the candidate selection and recommendation decision, so that uncertainty over the national medical school establishment process does not drag on. The association further urged Mokpo University and those involved to stop the wasteful confrontation stoking inter-university competition and regional conflict, and to prioritize the public interest of protecting residents' right to healthcare and expanding essential medical services. Finally, it called on the government and relevant administrative agencies to swiftly build a regional public healthcare system to protect the lives and health of citizens in eastern South Jeolla Province.
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