The evaluation scores for Mokpo University and Suncheon University as candidates for a new national medical school were separated by just 1.3 points. However, the difference in the evaluation of site acquisition certainty was only 0.06 points, raising concerns about the review's validity.
On the 4th, lawmakers Kim Won-i and Seo Mi-hwa, along with Mokpo Mayor Kang Seong-hwi, Mokpo City Council Chairman Lee Hyung-wan, local council members, special city council members from the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, and Mokpo University Vice President Lee Sang-chan and faculty held a press conference at the National Assembly, urging the Education Ministry to suspend the selection process for the new national medical school and to thoroughly review the recommendations.
They argued that while Mokpo University has secured approximately 50,000 square meters for the medical school site, Suncheon University has not secured state-owned land and submitted an agreement based on the free lease of city-owned land. They called for a proper verification of eligibility and feasibility according to university establishment and operation regulations and laws regarding public property.
They particularly pointed out that despite the overall score difference of only 1.3 points, Mokpo University was only 0.06 points ahead in the site acquisition certainty evaluation.
In contrast, the proposed faculty plan for the medical school indicated 112 faculty members for Mokpo University and 140 for Suncheon University, resulting in a 1.17-point gap in that evaluation. Mokpo representatives stated, "The faculty to be appointed in four years should not just be a number; the actual feasibility and concrete plans should have been verified."
They also raised concerns about the composition of the review committee. Although the detailed operational plan initially included experts in medical facility design and construction, of the eight actual reviewers, seven were medical school professors and one was a financial consultant, with no design or construction experts.
They criticized the exclusion of objective indicators showing the medical vulnerability of the southwestern region from the evaluation criteria. They stated that it is difficult to accept that the regional medical disparities were not reflected in the evaluation, given the purpose of establishing a national medical school to improve the realities of medically underserved areas.
Mokpo officials and the university have called for the Education Ministry to halt further reviews and verify the legality and fairness of the review process, especially since a lawsuit has been filed to cancel the selection and recommendation decisions.
They emphasized, "Acceptance of the results is only possible when a legal and fair evaluation is conducted," and stated, "Thoroughly identifying and correcting the issues in the review process is the way to respond to the demands of the residents of the southwestern region who have long sought the establishment of a national medical school for 36 years."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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