Gwangju Mayor Kang Stakes Claim on Medical School Location to Woo Eastern Voters

Gwangju Mayor Kang Ki-jung has made a bold political gambit to capture votes in South Jeolla Province ahead of the June 3 local elections.

Kang is competing in the Democratic Party of Korea's primary for the unified Jeonnam-Gwangju Special City mayoral candidacy. His strategy appears to focus squarely on the eastern region of South Jeolla rather than the western area.

The mayor made a decisive call on the contentious location of South Jeolla's proposed national medical school, declaring it should be built in Suncheon. The eastern city of Suncheon and the western city of Mokpo have long been locked in a dispute over the school's location.

"We have spent too much time unable to decide on the medical school's location," Kang said at a press conference at Gwangju City Council on May 17. "Now we must make decisions and move forward."

"We cannot unrealistically split the medical school with 50 students each in two locations," he added. "The 100-student capacity must be consolidated in one place. For Mokpo, it would be appropriate to attract a hospital using special city funds."

The announcement sparked immediate backlash from Mokpo's political establishment. National Assembly member Kim Won-i and Democratic Party preliminary candidate for Mokpo mayor Kang Seong-hwi demanded that Kang "sincerely apologize to Mokpo and the people of South Jeolla Province."

While other candidates for the unified special city mayor position have carefully avoided taking sides on the sensitive medical school issue, observers are watching whether Kang's decisive stance will boost his stagnant poll numbers.

Analysts note that the western region is effectively the electoral stronghold of rival candidate Kim Young-rok, the current South Jeolla Governor. The eastern region, relatively closer to Gwangju, presents a more promising opportunity to sway voters.

Kang has rolled out a series of ambitious pledges targeting eastern South Jeolla voters.

At Suncheon City Council the previous day, he unveiled "10 Promises for a Million-Person Eastern Region City," a comprehensive development strategy spanning healthcare, industry, transportation, and tourism. The policy announcement drew political attention as the first regional vision linked to his Jeonnam-Gwangju unified special city concept.

Kang also committed to pursuing a national semiconductor industrial complex, an initiative first proposed by Suncheon Mayor Noh Kwan-kyu.

"The eastern region has been a core area supporting Korean industry, but its competitiveness has weakened due to insufficient medical and cultural infrastructure," Kang said. "Through industrial restructuring and expanded living infrastructure, I will transform the eastern region into Korea's industrial capital and Asia's premier resort destination."

Meanwhile, Kang presented a "Special Citizen Allowance" as his flagship pledge, offering annual payments of 1 million to 3 million won to various groups.

Under the plan, 600,000 young people in South Jeolla and Gwangju would receive 1 million won annually in local currency as a basic youth allowance. Additionally, 100,000 small business owners with annual sales of 100 million won or less would receive 2 million won in revenue stabilization payments.

Kang also explained plans to unify farmer allowance standards across South Jeolla and Gwangju, expand rural basic income programs, and provide 3 million won annually in creative allowances to 10,000 local artists.