Kookmin University (President Jeong Seung-ryul) Graduate School of Public Administration signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Seoul Medical Center (Director Lee Hyun-seok) on April 24 at Seoul Medical Center to foster health and welfare administration experts and improve community health and welfare through academic-public cooperation education.

The Graduate School of Public Administration at Kookmin University is actively pursuing educational innovation to address issues arising from changes in social and demographic structures and to contribute proactively to national development. As part of this effort, the school has established a new major in Health and Welfare Studies to cultivate public officials with integrated expertise in health and welfare, in response to the challenges posed by an aging society.

The MOU signing ceremony was attended by Ha Hyun-sang, Dean of the Graduate School of Public Administration at Kookmin University; Kim Sang-yong, Head of the Department of Social Welfare; Kim Jin-dong, Special Professor; Lee Hyun-seok, Director of Seoul Medical Center; Kim Hye-jung, Deputy Director of Administration; and Shim Hyun-jung, Union Chairperson. The participants discussed mutual cooperation plans to enhance the hospital administrative job skills of Seoul Medical Center staff and to advance systems and research in the field of health and welfare administration, followed by the signing of the MOU.

Seoul Medical Center, established in 1911 as the first public hospital in Korea to respond to infectious diseases, was originally known as Soonhwa Hospital. It was renamed Seoul Medical Center in 2006 and has been safeguarding Korea's public healthcare history for over 100 years. The hospital played a pioneering role in enhancing the public nature of medical services in Korea by developing and spreading integrated nursing and caregiving services nationwide.

Through this agreement, the two institutions aim to establish a close cooperative framework between the university and the institution, and collaborate in various areas including education, mutual policy responses, and other necessary matters. At the signing ceremony, Dean Ha Hyun-sang of the Graduate School of Public Administration stated, “As South Korea has entered an ultra-aged society, there is a growing demand for practical services that combine welfare and health policies. Through this agreement with Seoul Medical Center, we have taken a meaningful first step toward cultivating interdisciplinary talent.” He also said, “The Graduate School of Public Administration at Kookmin University will play a leading role in cultivating health and welfare experts who combine care and medical services in partnership with Seoul Medical Center.”

The Graduate School of Public Administration at Kookmin University will recruit new students for the second semester of the 2025 academic year from May 17 to June 11, 2025, and the selection process will consist of document screening and interviews. In addition to the existing six majors—Public Administration, Policy Studies, Audit Studies, Local Governance Studies, Museum and Art Museum Studies, and Social Welfare Studies—the university will introduce two new majors, Cultural Arts Administration and Health and Welfare Studies, in September 2025. These programs will be offered alongside various scholarship programs, providing systematic and practical education with a distinguished faculty of professors who excel in both theory and practice.

For detailed admission information, please visit the National University of Korea Graduate School of Public Administration website (http://gspa.kookmin.ac.kr/gspa/index.do).