"Establish a Medical School at National Kyungguk University in Andong"…Gyeongbuk Province Holds Support Council Meeting

Medical School and 500-Bed Hospital Planned for the New Town

Number of Doctors in Gyeongbuk Far Below the National Average

On July 21 at 2 p.m., the Gyeongbuk Provincial Government will host the "National Kyungguk University Medical School Establishment Support Council" in the conference room of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Government Building, to advance the establishment of a medical school at National Kyungguk University.

At this meeting, about 20 officials, including Deputy Governor Hwang Myung-seok of Gyeongbuk Province, representatives from Andong City, Yecheon County, National Kyungguk University, and the Gyeongbuk Research Institute, will be present. The participants have agreed to formalize the working council for the establishment of the new medical school and present a united front when engaging with the government and the National Assembly.

Gyeongbuk Provincial Government Building

The previous consultation body, which had involved only Gyeongbuk Province, Andong City, and National Kyungguk University, has now been expanded and reorganized to include Yecheon County and the Gyeongbuk Research Institute.

Although Gyeongbuk is the largest provincial government by area in the country, it only has 1.4 doctors per 1,000 people, which is significantly below the national average of 2.3. Many areas also experience poor access to medical services, making it urgent to address the regional medical gap.

The Gyeongbuk Provincial Government stated, "To secure essential medical professionals and strengthen the foundation of local healthcare, we have consistently appealed to the National Assembly for the necessity of establishing a new regional medical school. Together with the pan-provincial task force for the national medical school, we have worked to build broad social consensus and actively sought support from relevant ministries such as the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Education, laying the groundwork for establishing a new medical school."

The National Kyungguk University Medical School project involves building a medical school for up to 100 students and an affiliated hospital with 500 beds on the site of the new town near the Gyeongbuk Provincial Government Building. This is a flagship pledge by Governor Lee Cheol-woo. In addition, Gyeongbuk Province has initiated a research project to formulate an execution strategy for establishing the medical school, planning to systematically prepare for preliminary accreditation, the operational model for the affiliated hospital, and other key details for the new academic institution.

With this roundtable, Gyeongbuk Province aims to further solidify the framework for ongoing cooperation among stakeholders, detail response strategies for engagement with the central government and the National Assembly, and set up a dedicated medical school establishment team.

Deputy Governor Hwang Myung-seok commented, "Gyeongbuk Province, Andong City, and National Kyungguk University have continuously visited the National Assembly and central government agencies to actively explain the necessity for a new national medical school. With the expansion of this collaborative framework, we will do our utmost, joining forces with stakeholders, so that the establishment of the National Kyungguk University Medical School can be finalized at the earliest possible date."

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