North Gyeongsang council welcomes new medical school, vows push for essential healthcare

The North Gyeongsang Provincial Assembly welcomed the decision to establish a new medical school at Gyeongkuk National University.

The assembly said Wednesday it strongly supports the decision by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare to create the new medical school, calling it "the long-held wish of 2.6 million North Gyeongsang residents come true."

North Gyeongsang Province currently has no tertiary general hospital, forcing many residents to travel to Daegu and other regions for medical care — a persistent problem of healthcare access.

The situation is particularly acute: 18 cities and counties lack adequate obstetric services, five lack sufficient pediatric care, and the province has only 1.42 doctors per 1,000 residents, placing it near the bottom nationally. Expanding essential medical infrastructure has become urgent.

The new Gyeongkuk National University College of Medicine and its affiliated hospital will be built in the new town near the provincial government complex, with a total project cost of 632.5 billion won ($472 million) to be invested between 2027 and 2034.

The medical school aims to open in 2030 with an enrollment of 40 students and a faculty of 112, while the affiliated hospital is planned as a teaching hospital with more than 500 beds.

To help medical personnel settle in the region long-term, the plan also calls for expanding residential and lifestyle infrastructure, along with the development of a K-Science Village, dormitories and an integrated care cluster.

Assembly Speaker Kim Hee-su said the establishment of the medical school is "a precious achievement that carries the long-cherished hopes of North Gyeongsang residents," adding that it would help address gaps in essential care — including emergency, pediatric and obstetric services — by training medical professionals locally and keeping them in the region.

Kim said the assembly would spare no effort in supporting the university so that Gyeongkuk National University College of Medicine can be established as quickly as possible and grow into a competitive regional medical hub.