Son Hun-mo calls on Ministry of Education to base evaluation on objective medical demand data
Suncheon Mayor Son Hun-mo declared Thursday that he cannot accept the outcome of a university selection process being conducted by the Jeonnam Research Institute to determine which institution will host a new national medical school.
Son's central objection is that the process — in which the Jeonnam Research Institute evaluates Suncheon National University and Mokpo National University before recommending one to the Ministry of Education for the medical school and university hospital site — is unfair and appears skewed toward the western region centered on Mokpo, a situation he described as "ominous."
Son wrote on his social media account Thursday that the Gwangju-South Jeolla integrated special city authority had asked Suncheon and Mokpo mayors, National Assembly members and provincial assembly members to gather Friday to sign a mutual agreement pledging not to contest the evaluation result. He said he would not attend the signing ceremony.
Explaining his refusal, Son said collecting applications from both universities and handing them to the Jeonnam Research Institute — a body funded by the local government — for an evaluation lasting only a few days, then demanding submission of an "acceptance pledge," was "seriously unreasonable and unfair." He added that he "could never accept" a decision made under such conditions.
Son also said a vice president of Mokpo National University sits as a standing board member of the Jeonnam Research Institute, which is to conduct the evaluation, making a biased review likely.
"The Ministry of Education, which holds final authority over the establishment of a national medical school and university hospital and the allocation of enrollment quotas, must conduct a fair assessment based on objective medical demand and statistical indicators," Son said. "Rather than pushing through an acceptance pledge that even the ministry has not required, the priority should be establishing a fair and objective process whose outcome everyone can accept."
Meanwhile, both Mokpo National University and Suncheon National University held senior staff meetings Thursday morning and agreed to comply with the integrated special city authority's request to submit applications for the medical school along with a written pledge to accept the evaluation result.
A Suncheon National University official said the university would "faithfully engage with all documentation related to the establishment of the national medical school and affiliated hospital," while adding that "members of the university and the 840,000 residents of the eastern region are watching closely to ensure the entire evaluation process is fair, objective, and free from bias toward either side, with expertise and independence guaranteed."
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