Mokpo City Welcomes Proposal for 'Western Medical Town' by Jeonnam-Gwangju Metropolitan City

Cluster of Medical School, University Hospital, and Research Institutions...
Expectations for a Comprehensive Regional Healthcare System
"We Will Mobilize All Administrative Resources to Ensure Smooth Admissions for Medical Students in the 2030 Academic Year"

Mokpo City, located in the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Metropolitan City, together with various local institutions and organizations, has expressed strong support for the proposal to establish the "Western Medical Town Project," which will cluster a medical school, a university hospital, and medical research institutions.

On the afternoon of the 29th at 2 PM, Kang Seong-hwi, Mayor of Mokpo, along with local organizations, expressed a warm welcome to the proposal for the establishment of the Western Region Medical Town Project. Provided by Mokpo City.

On July 29, Mokpo City announced that local institutions and citizens had issued a joint statement welcoming the vision for the establishment of the Western Medical Town, as announced by the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Metropolitan City.

Earlier, on July 27, the Integrated Metropolitan City unveiled a plan to build a "Mega Medical City." According to the plan, a Medical Innovation Town will be built in the eastern region, while a Medical Town, which will include a medical school, university hospital, and medical research institutions, will be established in the western region.

Through the joint statement, institutions, organizations, and citizens of the Mokpo region said, "We actively welcome the Integrated Metropolitan City's commitment to balanced development of healthcare in both the east and west," and urged the authorities, "Please promptly devise and announce a concrete implementation plan so that this vision can be pursued unwaveringly."

Previously, Mokpo National University and Suncheon National University held 13 rounds of discussions regarding the integration of the two universities, on the premise of attracting a national medical school. Even after the proposal by the Integrated Metropolitan City's transition committee, the two universities held three additional attempts at voluntary agreement, but no consensus was reached.

As these negotiations between universities continued to fall through, concerns have grown in the local community that the establishment of the medical school and university hospital could be delayed indefinitely.

Mokpo City emphasized that, since it is no longer possible to rely solely on voluntary agreements between universities, the central government must take responsible action to ensure the establishment of a national medical school.

In particular, the city stressed that a Medical Town—integrating a medical school, university hospital, and medical research institutions—must be established in the western region, which has remained medically underserved for the longest period in Korea, to create a comprehensive regional healthcare system where diagnosis and treatment can be completed locally.

The city also requested the prompt formation of a "Public Medical Innovation Task Force," which will be directly overseen by the special mayor, and called for the development of a specific roadmap and implementation plan to realize the establishment of the Mega Medical City spanning both east and west regions.

Once the Western Medical Town becomes a reality, it is expected to greatly contribute to strengthening the capacity to handle critical and emergency medical cases, the training of medical personnel, the fostering of the bio-medical industry, as well as significantly improving access to healthcare for residents of the southwestern region.

Kang Sung-hwi, Mayor of Mokpo, stated, "We enthusiastically welcome this proposal, which addresses the 36-year-long aspiration of the residents in the western part of the special city and lays the groundwork for a self-contained regional medical system and the advancement of public healthcare." He further added, "Together with the Integrated Metropolitan City, Mokpo National University, and relevant institutions, we will invest all administrative resources to ensure that admissions of new medical students for the 2030 academic year proceed without a hitch."

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