Mokpo National University excluded from Jeonnam-Gwangju integrated city's medical school recommendation
'Unfair review gave Jeonnam-Gwangju city a free pass'
Medical vulnerability criteria dropped; Suncheon National University's site plan and timeline questioned
'Colleagues' encouragement keeps me going — I'll see this through'
Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Won-i, who represents Mokpo in South Jeolla Province and is now in her seventh day of a hunger strike over the exclusion of Mokpo National University from the selection process for a new national medical school, said Thursday that the review conducted by the Jeonnam-Gwangju integrated special city and the Ministry of Education was unfair. "I appeal to the Ministry of Education and other relevant ministries to reconsider the selection of the new medical school for the sake of the people of Mokpo," Kim said.
Speaking at her hunger-strike tent in front of the National Assembly's main building, Kim called for the cancellation of the regional university recommended by Jeonnam-Gwangju city and a fresh review. "I still have some strength left to hold on, though I will have to keep an eye on my physical condition and the broader situation," she said.
The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced Wednesday that new national medical schools would be established at Suncheon National University in the Jeonnam-Gwangju area and at Gyeongkuk National University in North Gyeongsang Province. The two schools aim to begin enrolling students in 2030, with 60 seats at Suncheon National University and 40 at Gyeongkuk National University.
Earlier, Jeonnam-Gwangju city had pursued a plan to establish a single "integrated university" medical school jointly with Mokpo National University and Suncheon National University, but when an agreement proved elusive, the city conducted a review through the Jeonnam Research Institute and on Aug. 30 formally recommended Suncheon National University as its candidate. When it emerged that Mokpo National University had lost by a margin of just 1.3 points, Kim and Mokpo National University officials pushed back sharply and demanded a re-evaluation.
In Thursday's interview, Kim said the review criteria used by the Jeonnam Research Institute were inappropriate and that Suncheon National University's plans for securing a site and its projected timeline for establishing the school were uncertain.
Kim also said that while the Ministry of Education's own review criteria had included medical vulnerability — given that the new national medical school was intended to address healthcare shortfalls in underserved regions — Jeonnam-Gwangju city had dropped that criterion from its local review. "When you factor in population structure and patterns of urban development, the medical vulnerability of the southwestern part of South Jeolla Province is overwhelmingly greater," she said.
"We demanded that the Ministry of Education correct Jeonnam-Gwangju city's shoddy and rushed review, which omitted medical vulnerability among other things, but the ministry simply accepted the city's recommendation as it stood," Kim said. "That goes beyond giving Jeonnam-Gwangju city a free pass — I am denouncing the ministry as an accomplice."
On the evaluation of proposed sites for the affiliated teaching hospital, Kim said Mokpo National University already owned its proposed site, whereas Suncheon National University submitted only a plan and a letter of commitment stating that municipal land would be provided rent-free — yet the two universities ended up just 0.06 points apart on the site criterion.
Kim said Mokpo National University had researched the construction timelines of comparable facilities — including Seoul National University's Siheung Baegot Hospital, Chonnam National University Hospital and Chungnam National University Hospital — and submitted a realistic estimate of 84 months, while Suncheon National University proposed 60 months without providing supporting documentation. "Suncheon National University received a higher score on the 'feasibility of establishing a teaching hospital' criterion, which makes no sense given the evidence," she said.
On her physical condition, Kim said she had felt hungry through the fifth day of her strike but that a sense of calm had come over her since Wednesday evening. "I'm struggling, but I can still hold on. The medical staff told me my parents gave me a good constitution," she said with a smile. She added that encouragement from colleagues across party lines — from both ruling and opposition party lawmakers — had given her strength. "I am going without food to appeal to the Ministry of Education and other central ministries to reconsider this decision one more time," she said.
Meanwhile, Mokpo National University is considering legal action against the Ministry of Education. The university had earlier filed for a stay of the decision designating and recommending Suncheon National University as the candidate for the new national medical school with Jeonnam-Gwangju city, but the application was dismissed. The first hearing in the main lawsuit — seeking to overturn the designation and recommendation — was held Oct. 29, but the court said it would resume proceedings after seeing the outcome of an appeal against the dismissal of the stay application.
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