Appeal hearing on ‘suspension of recommendation execution’ held after selection of Suncheon Medical University… Pay attention to the direction

Attention is being paid to whether the government's announcement selecting Suncheon National University as the new national medical school to be established in Gwangju, Jeollanam-do will have any impact on the administrative lawsuit filed by Mokpo University against the Jeonnam Gwangju Unified Special City.

According to the legal community on the 4th, the 1st Administrative Division of the Gwangju High Court (Chief Judge Choi Chang-hoon) will hold the first argument at 3 p.m. on the 5th in the case of Mokpo University's appeal against the special city's decision to suspend execution of the recommendation for a new national medical school candidate university.

Mokpo University objected to the Unified City's procedure of recommending Suncheon National University as a candidate for a new national medical university to the government, and applied to the court for a suspension of execution, which is a provisional disposition in a civil lawsuit.

Previously, the Gwangju District Court ruled that this case did not meet the requirements and dismissed Mokpo University's application for suspension of execution.

At the time, the court ruled that the act of a local government recommending a university that was only a provisional candidate did not constitute an exercise of public power as law enforcement.

In addition, it was judged that there was no legal benefit to Mokpo University, a national university, in raising an objection regarding the national public interest that would be gained by establishing a new national medical school in the Jeonnam region.

Mokpo University filed an appeal against this ruling, and the trial schedule for the main lawsuit was postponed until the final result of the suspension of execution case was announced.

With the government announcing the establishment of Suncheon Medical School amid a series of lawsuits, attention is focused on what kind of legal and procedural results Mokpo University's claims will yield.

In a phone call with Yonhap News, a legal representative said, "Mokpo University's lawsuit against the integrated city raises questions about the act of recommending Suncheon National University to the government," and added, "It should be viewed as a separate case from the review results of the government's selection of Suncheon National University."

He added, "If Mokpo National University wants to point out procedural flaws in the decision to establish Suncheon Medical University, it appears that it will have to file an additional lawsuit against the government, either the Ministry of Education or the Ministry of Health and Welfare."

Mokpo University is reportedly considering filing a constitutional appeal instead of a direct administrative lawsuit against the government's decision to select Suncheon National University as a new national medical university.

A constitutional complaint is a legal procedure in which citizens whose fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution have been violated due to the exercise of public power by state agencies request a judgment from the Constitutional Court for relief of their rights.

The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on this day that they would select Suncheon National University as a new national medical university in the Jeonnam region and allocate 60 seats.