Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) School of Medicine received a notice of a one-year deferral of non-accreditation from the Korea Institute of Medical Education and Evaluation (hereinafter KIMEE). JBNU immediately filed for a reexamination of the result and is intensifying preparations for reaccreditation by implementing close countermeasures.

KIMEE changed the accreditation status of JBNU School of Medicine as a result of the 2025 second‑year Major Change Evaluation. The current accreditation is valid until February 28, 2027. This is the first time JBNU has received a notice of deferred non‑accreditation since KIMEE evaluations began.

KIMEE pointed to problems including a shortage of clinical faculty in the Department of Family Medicine and the lack of secured lecture rooms capable of accommodating students admitted in 2024 and 2025.

Behind these issues lie complex structural conditions faced by JBNU School of Medicine. The school absorbed enrollment quotas following the closure of Seonam Medical School and, even before the increase, already had the largest intake nationwide with 142 students. In addition, issues regarding educational conditions have emerged due to doubling and other effects from past government–medical community disputes.

Despite these circumstances, JBNU has already established and begun implementing concrete measures for the regular accreditation evaluation and the major-change accreditation evaluation. In the facilities area, the university plans to secure three large lecture halls through remodeling of Medical Building 1 in 2026 and to add four PBL rooms through remodeling of Building 4. The university is also pursuing remodeling of the Student Union and the medical library in consultation with University Headquarters.

To improve the clinical training environment, JBNU has agreed with Jeonbuk National University Hospital to secure two student‑only spaces, and it is also promoting the establishment of student education facilities at Gunsan Jeonbuk National University Hospital. Regarding faculty and staff recruitment, JBNU will work with University Headquarters to develop a systematic staffing plan. In the student assessment area, the university will revise relevant guidelines on the timing and application of evaluations by graduation outcomes and, at the same time, will establish a plan to improve formative assessment and apply it immediately from the first semester of the 2026 academic year.

President Yang O‑bong also stated at a recent third‑anniversary press conference that construction to expand the anatomy laboratory by 1.5 times is already underway and that the university has been continuously allocating a higher budget compared with other medical schools, expressing a strong institutional commitment to improvement.

JBNU will submit its self-evaluation research report for medical education accreditation by the end of July and will undergo KIMEE's on-site evaluation between September and October. It also plans to submit the third‑year major change evaluation plan by the end of November. 

Kang Kyung‑pyo, Dean of JBNU School of Medicine, said, “We do not view this situation merely as an issue to pass the evaluation. In order to promptly resolve the unmet standards amid a rapidly changing medical education environment, we will communicate closely with University Headquarters to establish a medical education environment befitting the university’s stature.”