'Regional Medical Schools' to Be Established at Sunchon and Gyeongkuk; First Students to Enroll in 2030

Sunchon National University allocated 60 places; Gyeongkuk National University 40
To help address healthcare gaps in Jeonnam and Gyeongbuk, which lack medical schools

National medical schools will be established in Jeonnam and Gyeongbuk, where there are currently no medical schools.

Sunchon National University in Jeonnam-Gwangju will be allocated 60 places, while Gyeongkuk National University in Gyeongbuk will receive 40. Both universities plan to admit their first students in 2030.

On November 4, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the results of their selection of locations and universities for new medical schools and allocation of enrollment places.

The government has been pursuing plans to establish national medical schools in areas without medical schools to strengthen regional, essential and public healthcare. In February, the Health and Medical Policy Deliberation Committee under the Ministry of Health and Welfare decided to train 100 doctors a year through regional medical schools to be established in 2030 and 2031.

The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare subsequently formed a joint planning team for regional medical schools and assessed 13 indicators across four areas: access to medical schools, shortages in medical services, the degree of medical vulnerability and policy effectiveness. Based on the assessment, Jeonnam and Gyeongbuk were selected as candidate locations.

In Jeonnam, plans to establish a medical school were pursued on the condition that Mokpo National University and Sunchon National University merge, but the universities failed to reach an agreement. Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City therefore recommended Sunchon National University as a candidate university following a separate review.

Concerns were raised about the process for recommending a candidate university, but after seeking external legal advice, among other steps, the government determined that there were no issues serious enough to warrant rejecting the recommendation.

In Gyeongbuk, Gyeongkuk National University was recommended as the candidate university. The government determined that the establishment plans for both universities meet the principles for new medical schools, including establishment at a national university, one university and one hospital, and geographic proximity between the medical school and its hospital.

Taking regional circumstances into account, the government allocated 60 places to Sunchon National University and 40 to Gyeongkuk National University. The allocation reflected the difficulty of operating a 100-place class in Jeonnam in the early years, as well as the presence of Dongguk University’s medical school, with 55 places, in southern Gyeongbuk.

The government plans to discuss whether to allocate additional places from 2032 onward after comprehensively reviewing the results of the 2029 doctor workforce supply-and-demand projections, the universities’ level of preparedness and their accreditation for medical education.

It will also establish a “Regional Medical School Establishment Task Force for Municipal and Provincial Governments and Universities,” with participation from local governments, universities and experts, and set up a joint support team with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare to assist with establishing the medical schools.

Vice Minister of Education Choi Eunok said, “With today’s announcement, the establishment of regional medical schools, a key government task, is now moving into full-scale implementation. We will work with local governments and relevant ministries and provide our full support to establish the necessary educational conditions so that the first students can enroll in 2030 and the new medical schools can train outstanding medical professionals who will support regional healthcare.”

Second Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Lee Hyeonghun said, “Establishing regional medical schools is an important government task aimed at narrowing healthcare gaps between regions that cannot be addressed simply by increasing enrollment at existing medical schools, and strengthening the system for training, educating and retaining regional medical personnel. We will fully reflect the views of specialized institutions and experts at every stage, including the organization and operation of regional medical schools and the establishment of teaching hospitals, to ensure that the new schools are established on a solid footing.”

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