Incheon National University medical school push moves to National Assembly

Community efforts to establish a medical graduate school at Incheon National University are gaining momentum at the national legislative level.

A forum co-hosted by 14 Incheon-area lawmakers from across party lines — with participation from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Incheon city government, academics and civic organizations — is drawing attention as a sign that discussions over the proposed school may be moving toward concrete action.

Incheon National University will hold a National Assembly forum titled "Strengthening Public Healthcare in Incheon and Establishing a Medical Graduate School at Incheon National University" on Monday at Conference Room 9 of the National Assembly Members' Office Building.

The forum aims to explore ways to expand Incheon's public healthcare infrastructure and secure a stable supply of medical professionals for regional, essential and public healthcare services.

Particular focus will be placed on the policy rationale for establishing the medical graduate school and on developing concrete strategies to move the project forward.

Discussions around the school have accelerated in the second half of this year, driven by political circles, local government and the university itself.

Earlier, in August, Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae formally proposed to Health and Welfare Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong that the university be allowed to establish the graduate medical school.

Incheon National University has also launched a research project aimed at developing a specific implementation model for the school.

Legislative momentum has become visible as well. Last month, Assembly member Kim Gyo-heung and 13 other Incheon-area Assembly members jointly submitted a bill to partially amend the Public Health and Medical Services Act.

In the Incheon City Council, council member Lee Yeon-ju and 32 others have also introduced an ordinance to support the establishment of the medical graduate school.

All 14 Incheon-area National Assembly members will serve as co-hosts of the forum regardless of party affiliation — Kim Gyo-heung, Kim Nam-jun, No Jong-myeon, Maeng Seong-gyu, Mo Gyeong-jong, Park Seon-won, Bae Jun-yeong, Song Yeong-gil, Yu Dong-su, Yun Sang-hyeon, Lee Yong-u, Lee Hun-gi, Jeong Il-yeong and Heo Jong-sik.

Hong Jin-bae, head of Incheon National University's Office of International and External Affairs, will deliver the keynote presentation under the theme "Policy Direction and Implementation Strategy for Establishing a Medical Graduate School at Incheon National University." Hong is expected to outline the case for establishing the school, its policy direction and pathways to realization.

The presentation is expected to center on linking a national public medical graduate school with a regional physician program as a model for training Incheon-tailored medical professionals. It will also emphasize the need for joint action by the central and local governments to secure the legal basis, faculty, teaching hospitals and funding the school would require.

The subsequent panel discussion will be moderated by Cho Seung-yeon, former director of Incheon Medical Center. Panelists will include Song Gi-min, health and medical chair of the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice; Lee Hun-jae, head of Incheon's public health and medical support team; Ko Hyeong-u, director of regional essential medical policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare; and Kim Min-jeong, head of Incheon city's health and welfare bureau. The panel will discuss policy feasibility and measures to expand public healthcare.

Incheon National University hopes the forum will serve as an opportunity to strengthen a joint implementation framework that goes beyond the university's own plans to bring together the National Assembly, the central government, Incheon city, the medical community and civil society.

"We hope this forum, which brings the National Assembly, the government, Incheon city, academia and civic groups together in one place, will produce rational solutions and practical steps toward establishing the medical graduate school," said Lee Jun-han, vice president for planning at Incheon National University.