Won said, “To prevent health disasters such as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), the Seoul city government has decided that a fundamental revolution is needed in public health, and that it will push forward with plans to found a new Graduate School of Public Health on the UOS campus.” He added, “In the second half of this year, we will launch a committee in charge of establishing this Graduate School of Public Health, including UOS professors, experts on public health in Seoul, and doctors from municipal hospitals. After gaining approval from the Ministry of Education, we are planning to open it in 2017. Further, we will consider establishing a new College of Medicine that will merge with the development of the new Seoul Public Health System.”

Last year, the Seoul Metropolitan Council publicized its adoption of a “Proposition for Encouraging the UOS College of Medicine.” As it did so, the medical community and the Korean Medical Association both expressed worries about the issue.

An anonymous student said, “Simply put, I agree with establishing the Graduate School of Public Health because it will be helpful to our school. However, who will shoulder the expense? In addition, the goal of founding the Graduate School of Public Health first should be for our school, not for Seoul, even though our university is run with much help from Seoul citizens.” 

By Ji-hye Park