The fierce competition between Mokpo National University and Suncheon National University to host a new national medical school in the Jeonnam-Gwangju region has ended with Suncheon taking the lead by a razor-thin margin of 1.3 points.

According to the Jeonnam-Gwangju Unified Special City today (the 30th), the Jeonnam Institute, the agency dedicated to the evaluation, selected 8 evaluation committee members from a nationwide pool of 55 individuals—excluding Seoul, Gyeonggi, Daejeon, Chungnam, Jeonnam-Gwangju, and Jeonbuk—while eliminating potential conflicts of interest.

The evaluation panel included public health experts and medical school professors, as well as one expert in financial feasibility.

The committee members gathered at the Koreana Hotel in Seoul yesterday (the 29th) to evaluate five indicators: the medical school establishment plan, the medical school educational facilities acquisition plan, the educational hospital acquisition plan, the medical school faculty acquisition plan, and the roles and responsibilities of the medical school and educational hospital.

The final scores, calculated by averaging the scores after excluding the highest and lowest points for each indicator, were 89.15 for Suncheon National University and 87.85 for Mokpo National University.

The plan for securing medical school faculty decided the outcome.

In this category, Suncheon received 21.72 points and Mokpo received 20.55 points, resulting in a 1.17-point difference.

This gap is similar to the overall total score difference of 1.30 points.

For the medical school establishment plan, both universities scored 9.33 points, while Mokpo actually edged ahead by 0.35 points in the educational facilities acquisition plan.

Suncheon led by 0.17 points in the educational hospital acquisition plan and by 0.31 points in the roles and responsibilities of the medical school and educational hospital, though the margins were narrow.

Looking at individual committee members, one member gave higher scores to Mokpo across all categories, while another gave equal or higher scores to Suncheon across all categories.

Overall, 6 members gave higher scores to Suncheon, while 2 members evaluated Mokpo more favorably.


Some reactions in the local community suggested the outcome was unexpected.

Reflecting the flow of previous discussions, the local community in Suncheon had expressed concerns over unfair procedures even before the evaluation results were released.

Some had even demanded that the Ministry of Education, rather than the Jeonnam-Gwangju Unified Special City, directly select the candidate university.

Suncheon Mayor Sohn Hoon-mo, Suncheon City Council Chairman Yoo Young-chul, and National Assembly Member Kim Moon-soo even performed three steps and one bow in the rain.

The city of Suncheon welcomed the decision, stating, "The long-cherished aspiration of the residents in the eastern region of Jeonnam-Gwangju has borne fruit."

In a press release, Suncheon explained, "Compared to its population and medical demand, the eastern region lacks severe and emergency medical infrastructure, such as tertiary general hospitals."

It added, "Suncheon National University's selection as the candidate university for a new medical school will go beyond simply attracting a medical school; it will serve as an opportunity to guarantee the right to life and health for the residents of the eastern region."

Suncheon promised to build a close cooperative system with local political circles, local governments, and universities to ensure the government's final approval, the securement of medical school quotas, and the establishment of substantial medical infrastructure.

Suncheon Mayor Sohn Hoon-mo emphasized, "The time for competition is over, and now is the time for responsibility and coexistence."

He continued, "We will by no means lightly dismiss the disappointment and sense of loss felt by residents in the western region, and we will actively cooperate to build a medical system where both the eastern and western regions can develop together."

(Photo courtesy of Suncheon National University, Yonhap News)