Jeon Gyeong-seon Criticizes Transition Committee's Compromise: "Mokpo National University Medical School Is Not Up for Negotiation"

"Separate Placement of Medical School and Hospital Is Division, Not Integration"
"A Matter of Medical Survival in the Southwestern Region... Joint Response Planned"

Recently, opposition from the political sphere in Mokpo has intensified over the proposal by the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City Transition Committee to separate the placement of medical schools and university hospitals at Mokpo National University and Suncheon National University.

Jeon Gyeong-seon, member of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City Council (Democratic Party of Korea, Mokpo 5), strongly objected to the committee's compromise plan for establishing a national medical school and called for a thorough review.

On July 7, through his social media account, Jeon stated, "The committee's recent proposal to Mokpo National University and Suncheon National University—placing the medical school and university headquarters in Mokpo, and the university hospital in Suncheon—is not an integration but rather a proposal that creates division."

Jeon Kyung-sun, Member of the Jeonnam Gwangju Integrated Metropolitan City Council.

Jeon argued, "Although it outwardly appears as if the main campus of the medical school will be located in Mokpo, in reality, this plan only partially restores the historical right that the southwestern region has been pursuing for 35 years to attract a medical school." He added, "Attracting a medical school to Mokpo National University is not a matter of regional interests, but a direct issue of the right to survival for residents in the medically underserved southwestern region."

He stressed that the effort to bring a medical school to Mokpo National University has been ongoing since the Mokpo Chamber of Commerce and Industry first made a suggestion in 1990, followed by proposals to the government and the Blue House, securing a site, a signature campaign that gathered one million people, and a feasibility study by the Ministry of Education.

He further pointed out, "The southwestern region of Jeonnam is home to 41.7% of all inhabited islands nationwide and is a representative medically underserved area with high rates of aging and emergency patients." He added, "This discussion is not simply about regional competition to attract a tertiary hospital, but about resolving the long-standing hardships of southwestern residents who have had to travel for hours to Mokpo, Gwangju, or even Seoul to receive care at major hospitals."

Jeon particularly criticized that after Mokpo National University and Suncheon National University agreed to merge last year on the premise of establishing a national medical school, the medical school issue has now devolved into a matter for regional negotiation.

He said, "Rights that originally belonged to Mokpo have now become something to be divided up for political calculation under the banner of integration," adding, "Rather than resolving conflicts, this so-called integration is fostering new conflicts that did not previously exist."

He continued, "This proposal does not align with the principles of growth integration and balanced integration that the committee has put forth," and argued, "Instead of promoting balance, this plan could once again push the southwestern region to the periphery."

Jeon also noted that this plan is still at the proposal stage and not yet finalized, expressing concern that the effort to attract a medical school to Mokpo National University could be jeopardized during future negotiations.

He remarked, "If opposition in the Suncheon area continues, the location of the main campus could again become a point of negotiation," and warned, "Unless the southwestern region organizes and consolidates its strength, it will continue to lose ground in the negotiation process."

He emphasized, "This is not a matter of political advantage or disadvantage, but a survival issue directly connected to the reality that island residents are losing precious time in medical emergencies." He called on civil society and all sectors of the region to unite so that the effort to attract a medical school to Mokpo National University remains unwavering.

Finally, Jeon announced plans to establish a joint response system involving civil society, the local political community, and various organizations moving forward.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.