Medical organizations in Daegu issued a joint statement Tuesday at the Dong-in annex of Daegu City Hall, urging the government to relocate public health care institutions to the city.
The statement was signed by the AI·Bio Medicity Daegu Council, five local medical associations — representing physicians, dentists, oriental medicine practitioners, pharmacists and nurses — and a task force promoting the relocation of the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute.
The groups called for Daegu to be selected as the home of institutions including the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute, the National Institute of Dental Research, the National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency, the Korea Health and Medical Information Service, the Korea Medical Device Safety Information Institute, and the Korea Institute of Drug Safety and Risk Management.
The statement also asked the government to give comprehensive consideration to the region's medical infrastructure and the goal of balanced national development when reviewing potential sites for the institutions.
The groups said relocating the health care agencies to Daegu would strengthen cooperation with the Daegu-North Gyeongsang Province Advanced Medical Complex, local university hospitals and the regional medical industry.
They plan to develop a concrete relocation proposal that accounts for the conditions and feasibility of moving institutions such as the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute and the National Institute of Dental Research.
The council, the five local medical associations and the task force said they would use the joint statement as a springboard to assess the feasibility of cooperation with each target institution, build a case for their siting in Daegu, petition the government and relevant ministries, and work to build broader public consensus.
Min Bok-gi, chairman of the Medicity Daegu Council, said the groups were asking "for the government's active review and bipartisan political cooperation so that Daegu's accumulated capabilities in medicine, education, research and industry can contribute to the advancement of national health care."
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