Andong launches task force to push for national medical school

Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, launched a task force Thursday to drive efforts to establish a national medical school in the city, announcing it has begun operating a working-level team to strengthen administrative support and inter-departmental coordination throughout the process.

The task force is composed of city departments responsible for medical school-related affairs. It will share emerging issues during the establishment process and coordinate each department's assigned tasks in an integrated manner.

The team will also monitor government policy developments on an ongoing basis and strengthen cooperation with relevant agencies to systematically prepare the administrative and institutional groundwork the project requires.

Andong views the establishment of a national medical school as a core priority for improving healthcare access in northern North Gyeongsang Province, training local medical professionals and expanding essential medical infrastructure. The city plans to rally all relevant departments around the task force to respond swiftly to government policy and build the administrative foundation for the school in stages.

"Until now, we have focused our administrative efforts on raising public and central government awareness of the need and rationale for a national medical school and building broader consensus," Mayor Kwon Gi-chang said. "We have now reached the point where we must define the specific administrative and institutional tasks required to move forward and prepare for them systematically."