The government has begun in earnest to establish a National Graduate School of Medicine to solve the shortage of regional, essential, and public health care workers. Aiming to open in 2029, it launched an establishment preparation committee and will build a system to train public health care professionals who must serve for 15 years at public medical institutions after graduation.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it held the first meeting of the National Graduate School of Medicine Establishment Preparation Committee on the morning of the 3rd at the Korea Press Center in Seoul.
The establishment of the National Graduate School of Medicine has been promoted as a state agenda to fundamentally resolve the shortage of regional, essential, and public health care workers. After selecting it as a state agenda in Aug. last year and going through the National Assembly's legislative process, the government enacted the Act on the Establishment and Operation of the National Graduate School of Medicine on May 26.
The establishment preparation committee is the first official procedure for establishing the National Graduate School of Medicine following the enactment of the law. The committee consists of 10 members, with Vice Minister Lee Hyeong-hun serving as Chairperson, including experts in public health care policy, medical education, and clinical fields at public medical institutions, as well as officials from related ministries.
Going forward, the committee will discuss matters across the board regarding school establishment and operation, including campus infrastructure and organization, curriculum, student support, and the mandatory service system. It also plans to separately form and operate expert subcommittees by field.
Under the relevant law, the National Graduate School of Medicine will be established as a four-year graduate university that trains specialists in specific fields. Students will receive tuition support and a curriculum specialized in public health care, and graduates will be required to serve for 15 years at public medical institutions after obtaining a medical license.
With a goal of opening in 2029 and starting the curriculum in 2030, the ministry plans to focus in the second half of this year on the school's location and infrastructure. In addition, it will begin drafting subordinate regulations containing detailed matters delegated by law, such as student selection methods, tuition support, and designation and support plans for mandatory service institutions, and will proceed with a legislative notice starting this month.
Alongside this, the government plans to establish a basic framework for the student selection system, a curriculum centered on public health care competencies, and the placement and support system for mandatory service through a foundational study on establishing a training system for professionals in the public health care field.
Vice Minister Lee Hyeong-hun said, "The establishment of the National Graduate School of Medicine is meaningful in that it introduces a state-led system for training public health care personnel," adding, "Through the committee, we will closely discuss key matters for establishing the school and do our best to create a top-tier medical education institution."