Ruling Party and Government: "Increase Medical School Quotas by 4,000 Over 10 Years" (Comprehensive)

Government and Ruling Party Confirm Expansion Plan for Medical School Quota Increase
Training Special, Basic Medical Scientists and Regional Doctors
KMA Opposes Increase... Announces General Strike Next Month

Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo attended the 'Party-Government Consultation on Expanding Medical School Quotas and Promoting the Establishment of Joint Medical Schools' held at the National Assembly on the 23rd, and was seen talking with Cho Jung-sik, Policy Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, during the meeting. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy reporters Choi Dae-yeol and Jeon Jin-young] Starting in 2025, a large number of medical scientists specializing in special fields such as epidemiological investigation and severe trauma, as well as basic medical sciences, will be produced among medical school graduates. From 2028, about 300 regional doctors who serve mandatory duty for 10 years in areas with a shortage of doctors will be produced annually. This has been a field struggling with manpower shortages due to medical graduates' reluctance, but the government has decided to increase the medical school quota by double digits for the first time in 16 years. Medical associations strongly opposed this, calling it "populism driven solely by political motives."

Regional Doctors, Special Fields, and Medical Science Students Increased by 400 Annually

The government and the ruling party confirmed the plan to expand the medical school quota and establish a public medical school at the party-government meeting held on the 23rd. The current medical school quota of 3,058 will be increased by up to 400 annually for 10 years starting in 2022, then reduced back to 3,058 from 2032. There is also room to adjust the quota in units of 5 years or shorter if necessary. The 4,000 increase over 10 years was calculated by dividing the shortage of personnel in severe fields such as cardiology, neurology, and emergency care, as well as essential medical fields, across 70 medical service areas nationwide, estimating a shortage of at least 3,000, with about 500 each for medical scientists and special or less-preferred specialties.

Of the 400 newly recruited annually, 300 will be regional doctors who choose essential specialties designated by the government. They are expected to begin working from 2028, when the 2022 entrants graduate. They will attend school with full scholarships, obtain licenses, and serve mandatory duty in the region for 10 years, including residency training.

Number of Clinical Physicians per 1,000 People in OECD Countries

Status of Doctors per 1,000 People by Region

If they fail to fulfill this obligation, scholarships will be reclaimed and licenses revoked. They will not be able to reissue their licenses during the remaining mandatory service period. The government will also introduce regional additional fees and foster excellent regional hospitals to comprehensively improve the regional medical system. The party and government plan to secure legal grounds by enacting a separate law containing these provisions by the end of this year.

Additionally, the government will introduce regional additional fees and foster excellent regional hospitals to comprehensively improve the regional medical system. The party and government plan to secure legal grounds by enacting a separate law containing these provisions by the end of this year. For special and professional fields such as epidemiological investigation necessary for infectious disease response, basic sciences, and medical science fields needed for fostering the pharmaceutical and bio industries, the quota will be further increased on the condition of training personnel in these fields among current students. These personnel will be able to start social activities from 2025. Regional doctors will prioritize areas with doctor shortages or small universities, while special and medical science fields will select universities based on career incentives and cooperation plans with related institutions, regardless of region or university size.

The public medical school will be established by utilizing the 49 medical school quotas of Seonam University Medical School, which was closed in 2018, to create a National Public Medical Graduate School. The law will be enacted by next month, a committee formed within this year, and site acquisition will begin next year. If proceeding as planned, it will open in March 2024. Without a separate affiliated hospital, the National Medical Center and Namwon Medical Center will serve as teaching hospitals, and local medical centers and national university hospitals will be educational cooperation hospitals. Similarly, students will receive tuition support and, after graduation and obtaining medical licenses, will serve mandatory duty for 10 years at public health medical institutions, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, or local governments.

President Choi Dae-jip of the Medical Association holds a press conference opposing the expansion of medical school quotas in front of the National Assembly on the 23rd. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Korean Medical Association Threatens "General Strike in Mid-August"

Medical associations strongly opposed the plan. Despite their negative stance on increasing medical school quotas, the government is pushing it unilaterally, and they declared they would not hesitate to hold a general strike. The Korean Medical Association held a press conference in front of the National Assembly on the same day and announced that after a delegate general meeting vote, they would enter a nationwide general strike on either August 14 or 18. A recent survey of about 26,000 association member doctors showed that an overwhelming majority responded that if the government unilaterally pursues medical policies including increasing medical school quotas, collective action is necessary.

Choi Dae-jip, president of the Korean Medical Association, said, "The Korean Medical Association, responsible for national health care and representing doctors nationwide, cannot contain its anger over the party-government meeting to finalize plans to increase doctor manpower, such as establishing a public medical school and increasing medical school admissions, under the pretense of securing essential medical fields and regional medical personnel without thorough review."

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Korea has 2.4 active doctors per 1,000 people, about 30% less than the OECD average of 3.4. While metropolitan areas like Seoul exceed the national average, provinces suffer from doctor shortages. Korea's medical school quota started with six universities and 800 students before the 1980s, increasing to 41 medical schools and 3,253 students by the late 1990s. Following the 2000 separation of prescribing and dispensing medicines, the quota was reduced by 10% through medical-government consultations and fixed at 3,058 in 2006, remaining unchanged since. In 2012, a task force including external experts discussed quota expansion, but it was not pursued due to differences with the medical association and civic groups.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.