Kim Bong-jin, the Governor of North Gyeongsang Province, said on the 14th, "We need to stabilize the medical crisis early to prevent the local medical collapse."
On the same day, the governor noted on his social media that, "As there seems to be no sign of resolution to the medical crisis, I held a meeting with the president of the local medical school and the president of the North Gyeongsang Medical Association."
He stated, "From North Gyeongsang's perspective, there is a shortage of doctors, and it is crucial to adopt a system to select medical students from the region, but it is even more urgent to stabilize the medical crisis early."
However, he pointed out, "Discussing the issue of student admissions for next year in the current situation makes it impossible to gain cooperation from students and residents."
He added, "As we have accepted the increase of 1,507 students this year, we should start from scratch to discuss next year's increase."
The governor noted that this year's public doctor recruitment is expected to reach only 30% of the usual levels and that there are already signs of existing doctors leaving the profession.
He requested, "The government should stabilize the medical crisis as soon as possible, solve this national challenge, and especially prevent the gap in local healthcare."
Meanwhile, the governor sparked controversy over 'political neutrality obligation violations' after attending a rally opposing President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment, which was organized by a Protestant group at Dongdaegu Station on the 8th.
At the time, he took the stage and said, "I want to speak openly, but governors are not allowed to give speeches," before singing the first verse of the national anthem.