South Jeolla and North Gyeongsang to welcome their first medical students in 2030 ... 60 at Suncheon National University, 40 at Gyeongkuk National University

[Financial News] National medical schools will be established in South Jeolla and North Gyeongsang, which previously had none. The government has selected Suncheon National University and Gyeongkuk National University to establish regional medical schools and decided to admit a total of 100 freshmen starting in the 2030 academic year.
The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare said on the 4th that they had selected Suncheon National University in Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City and Gyeongkuk National University in North Gyeongsang Province to establish regional medical schools, allocating quotas of 60 and 40 students, respectively.
The government has pursued the establishment of medical schools in areas without one as a policy task to strengthen regional, essential and public healthcare. In February, following deliberation and approval by the Health and Medical Policy Deliberation Committee, the Ministry of Health and Welfare decided to train 100 doctors a year at regional medical schools to be established in 2030 and 2031. Starting in July, the two ministries also formed a Regional Medical School Establishment Planning Group, jointly headed by their vice ministers, to discuss the establishment plans.

After three meetings, the planning group selected former South Jeolla Province (excluding Gwangju's five districts in what is now Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City) and North Gyeongsang Province as candidate regions, citing their relatively poor access to healthcare and the pressing need for local foundations to train, provide residency training for and retain doctors. The decision followed a quantitative assessment using 13 indicators across four areas—medical-school access, healthcare supply shortages, medical vulnerability and policy effectiveness—with a total score of 100. The assessment took into account factors including the number of practicing doctors relative to the population, the share of residents aged 65 or older, the rate of hospitalized patients receiving care outside the region, preventable mortality and the proportion of people living in areas at risk of regional depopulation.
The government then asked the two local governments to recommend candidate national universities and submit a Regional Medical School Establishment Plan jointly with the chosen university. North Gyeongsang recommended Gyeongkuk National University and submitted a joint plan. Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, meanwhile, submitted only the matters under the local government's remit and asked the government for an opportunity to recommend a candidate university as agreement on a merger between National Mokpo University and Suncheon National University—planned on the premise that a medical school would be established—became difficult.
The government accepted the request, taking into account the vulnerable healthcare conditions in South Jeolla Province, among other factors. After conducting a review through the Jeonnam Research Institute, Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City recommended Suncheon National University as its candidate on August 30. When various concerns were raised about the recommendation process, the government undertook an intensive review, checking explanatory materials several times, hearing directly from the officials responsible for the review at a planning group meeting and seeking outside legal advice. It concluded that there were no flaws serious enough to warrant rejecting the recommendation.
The planning group found that the plans for both regions were feasible and met the government's principles for establishing regional medical schools: establishing them at national universities, one university–one hospital, and geographic proximity between each medical school and its hospital.

The quotas were divided among the regions within the initially set total of 100, taking local circumstances into account. The allocation reflected the difficulty Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City would face in operating a new medical school with 100 students from the outset, as well as the fact that North Gyeongsang already has Dongguk University's medical school, with a quota of 55, in its southern region.
The government plans to discuss additional quota allocations for 2032–2036 when it projects physician supply and demand in 2029, taking into account the universities' level of readiness, their accreditation status with the Korean Institute of Medical Education and Evaluation, changes in healthcare conditions and local governments' efforts to train doctors.
Each selected region will establish a City/Province–University Regional Medical School Establishment Task Force, with local governments, universities and experts taking part, to advance the establishment of its medical school. The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare will jointly set up a Regional Medical School Establishment Support Group to monitor and support overall progress.
Vice Minister of Education Choi Eun-ok said, “The establishment of regional medical schools, a government policy task, has entered the full-fledged implementation phase.” She added, “We will do our utmost to support the creation of the necessary educational conditions, working with the regions and relevant ministries, so that new students can begin enrolling in 2030 and the new medical schools can train outstanding medical professionals to support regional healthcare.”
Second Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Lee Hyeong-hun said, “Establishing regional medical schools is an important government policy task aimed at narrowing healthcare disparities between regions, which are difficult to resolve by simply increasing enrollment at existing medical schools, and strengthening systems for training, providing residency training for and retaining the regional medical workforce.” He added, “At every stage—including the organization and operation of regional medical schools and the establishment of teaching hospitals—we will give due consideration to the views of specialized institutions and experts and ensure the work is carried out thoroughly.” 


[email protected] Jung Myung-jin, Medical Correspondent Reporter