"Ministry of Education Rejected, But Higher Score?"... Mokpo University Files Lawsuit to Cancel Medical School Recommendation

Suncheon University's "Unsecured Site" Under Fire
Administrative Lawsuit Filed Against Unified City Mayor
Ministry of Justice Approval for Litigation Secured

National Mokpo University has strongly protested the selection of National Suncheon University as the candidate school for the new medical school in the Unified Special City, and has initiated full-scale legal action against the mayor of the Unified Special City. The university claims that Suncheon University's campus acquisition plan violates relevant laws, and that the selection criteria themselves lacked fairness.

According to Mokpo University on September 3, the university confirmed during the recent evaluation process for selecting the candidate school for the new medical school in the Unified Special City that Suncheon University's land acquisition plan does not comply with legal regulations.

Logos of Suncheon National University (left) and Mokpo National University (right)

In response, Mokpo University has decided to file a lawsuit against the mayor of the Unified Special City to annul the selection and recommendation of Suncheon University as the candidate school and its recommendation to the Minister of Education.

Mokpo University requested approval from the Minister of Justice on September 2, which is required for a national university to file an administrative lawsuit, and received final approval on September 3, officially launching its legal action procedures.

In addition, to ensure the effectiveness of the main lawsuit, the university will also file for a provisional injunction with the court, requesting a temporary suspension of the mayor’s selection and recommendation of the candidate school. In particular, Mokpo University pointed out that Suncheon University received an unjustifiably high score regarding the key issue of “site acquisition” during the evaluation.

A key official at Mokpo University stated, “The site for the medical school must be state-owned land, and whether the site has actually been secured at the time of evaluation should be the absolute standard for judgment,” adding, “The focus should have been strictly on the ‘certainty of site acquisition,’ not vague ‘realistic plans.’”

This official went on to criticize, “How does it make sense that Suncheon University, whose site plan was previously rejected by the Ministry of Education, was given a higher score than Mokpo University on the claim that the site had been secured? Even now, Suncheon University has yet to determine how it will address the site issue.”

With Mokpo University formalizing its strong legal response after receiving approval from the Ministry of Justice, the competition between the two universities to host the new medical school is expected to escalate into a court battle, potentially having a significant impact on the future process of establishing the new medical school in the Unified Special City.

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