Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) President Yang O-bong held a press conference at 3:00 p.m. on the 20th and stated that, in response to the government's expansion of medical school enrollment, he will do his utmost to expand infrastructure to provide high-quality education to medical students.

He also emphasized that comprehensive government support is necessary to ensure that educational conditions for medical students do not deteriorate as a result of the expansion. He stressed that institutional backing from the government is essential, particularly to eliminate medically underserved areas and to improve the local medical service environment.

President Yang said, "Our Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province has fewer physicians per 1,000 people than the national average, and the majority of the eastern mountainous areas and the western coastal areas are in medically underserved areas. In particular, with the Jeonbuk National University Hospital Gunsan branch scheduled to open in 2027, and with public medical centers in Gunsan, Namwon, and Jinan currently unable to fill their physician quotas, university-level efforts are needed to address regional medically underserved areas."

He continued, "Nevertheless, confusion continues in clinical settings, and I know better than anyone the concerns currently held by professors, residents, and students. Improvements in educational conditions associated with the increase in enrollment must proceed swiftly. Expanding facilities, increasing faculty, and establishing bold support measures for essential medical personnel are urgent priorities. I will work to ensure that these matters are actively proposed to the government through the Council of Presidents of Key National Universities and the Korean Council for University Education."

He appealed for full government support and for the ongoing efforts by the government and the medical community to resolve the situation. He also urged medical students, residents, and professors to return to classrooms and hospitals to prevent harm to the public.

President Yang said, "To the medical students: please return to the classrooms as soon as possible and continue to nurture your dreams of becoming true medical professionals. To the residents: please also return to the hospitals and remain by patients' sides. You are at the center of the Republic of Korea's medical services."

He added, "I earnestly ask the medical school professors as well. Please actively guide your students so they can return to the classroom and resume classes, and please provide steady leadership so that the turbulent medical field can stabilize. As the saying goes, when the rain stops the ground hardens; the trials we have faced will become valuable nourishment for improving our medical environment and will serve as a tonic for our country's advancement toward a healthier nation."

Finally, President Yang appealed, "Under any circumstances, our university will faithfully fulfill its educational and social roles as a national flagship public university," and asked everyone to return to their posts and safeguard the educational and medical fields.