Daegu-Gyeongbuk Free Economic Zone Authority (Commissioner: Gun-woo Do) signed on the 8^th (Wednesday, local time) the business cooperation MOU in Georgetown University, Washington D.C. in the U.S. with regard to the establishment of the integrated graduate school of medicine in Daegu.
 
The MOU signed by Commissioner Gun-woo Do, Robert Clark, Dean of the School, Gi-cheol Sohn, Director of Integrated Medical Promotion Institute, attended by Han-gu Lee, the National Assembly Member, who has devoted himself for the last 10 years to prepare the system and secure the budget to make MediCity Daegu and to establish the integrated medical promotion institute, contains not only the matters of the establishment of the graduate school course but also the promotion of education and research cooperation in the medical field, the promotion of exchange program of medical manpower and patients, and vitalization of the medical industry. Georgetown University established in 1789 is a world-renowned prestigious university comprising 16 colleges including College of Law and College of Medicine and over 1300 faculty members, and was ranked 20th in the “Top Schools” chosen by US News in 2014.
 
Georgetown University has carried out the exchange related to integrated medical treatment with Catholic University of Daegu since 2008, and recently it began to cooperate with Daegu Haany University in the oriental medicine field. Integrated Medical Promotion Institute, one of the parties concerned in the MOU, is a foundation established by national and municipal expenditures, and recently it has completed the Integrated Medical Center in Daemyeong-dong, Daegu, and expanded exchange and cooperation with Harvard University and Georgetown University, which are globally prominent in the integrated medical field.
 
When the branch school of Georgetown University is established in Suseong Medical District which is located closest to downtown among the entire free economic zones of the country and whose settlement conditions are superior, it will be great advantages to attract students from both at home and abroad, and will be a golden opportunity to raise the brand value of the region as MediCity. Also, it is expected that there will be considerable ripple effects in the cultivation of professional manpower and vitalization of the regional economy, along with the epoch-making development of the region’s medical levels due to the world’s top level medical technologies and the attraction of superior manpower.
 
It is exceptional that Georgetown University, which is reputed to be very strict and take much time in decision-making, decided to sign the MOU in less than 7 months after its first contact with Daegu-Gyeongbuk Free Economic Zone Authority, and Georgetown University sources said that this was due to their faith in Daegu’s strong infrastructure of western and oriental medical service and the positive will of Daegu City Office and Free Economic Zone Authority. Daegu-Gyeongbuk Free Economic Zone Authority will visit Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Ministry of Education and other related government departments soon and explain the plan of inviting the graduate school and make positive efforts to secure the national expenditure.
 
Commissioner Gun-woo Do said, “We have had many small and big difficulties until we have signed the MOU due to competition with other free economic zones for the invitation and differences in business processing procedures and cultures between the countries, but we started to work directly on the invitation right after my taking office and can narrow the differences by strengthening trust relationships through mutual visits and participation in academic conferences on several occasions. We will do our best to establish the graduate school in Suseong Medical District as soon as possible by maximum utilization of the infrastructures such as superior medical manpower of Daegu and the Integrated Medical Promotion Institute.”

Source: DGFEZ PR team