KMA: "Withdraw Medical School Quota Expansion... Total Strike if No Improvement by 12th"

Korean Medical Association "Government's Medical Policy, the Four Great Evils"
If No Improvements to Government Demands, Nationwide Strike on the 14th

President Choi Dae-jip of the Korean Medical Association (third from the right in the front row) and the association's executive team held a press conference on the 1st to announce their demands to the government.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] The Korean Medical Association (KMA) demanded on the 1st that the government withdraw various healthcare policies, including the expansion of medical school quotas. The association announced that if the government does not present improvement measures by noon on the 12th regarding the five demands compiled by the association, it will proceed with a general strike on the 14th.

Choi Dae-jip, president of the KMA, along with the association's executive board and executives from city and provincial medical associations, held a meeting in the afternoon and then held a press conference to present these demands to the government. They called for the cessation of major healthcare policies promoted by the government, such as expanding medical school quotas, establishing public medical schools, including herbal medicine in insurance coverage, and fostering telemedicine. These were the issues the association had previously labeled as the "four major evils" and demanded to be withdrawn.

The association stated, "Immediately withdraw the hasty plan to expand medical school quotas without considering the increase in medical costs due to the rise in the number of doctors, population decline, and the importance of medical education," and proposed operating a "Korea Healthcare Development Plan Consultative Body (tentative name)" composed of the association and the Ministry of Health and Welfare for three years. Regarding the establishment of public medical schools, they emphasized the need to strengthen the competitiveness of public medical institutions and improve the treatment of existing personnel.

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

They also opposed the inclusion of herbal medicine in insurance coverage, stressing that health insurance finances should be prioritized for essential areas such as cancer, rare incurable diseases, and severe trauma. They added that the Act on the Promotion of Korean Medicine should be abolished. Furthermore, they declared telemedicine, promoted mainly by economic ministries such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, as a misguided policy and demanded that the Ministry of Health and Welfare declare face-to-face and direct examination as the basic principles. They also stated that if telemedicine is unavoidable, decisions should be made by incorporating the medical community's opinions.

Additionally, to overcome infectious disease emergencies, they emphasized establishing a public-private cooperative system with the KMA to increase support. The association said, "We agonized over whether it was the duty of doctors to silently hold their positions despite witnessing wrong policies during the COVID-19 crisis," but added, "However, we can no longer tolerate the government's arrogance, which takes our hesitation as an opportunity to push unilateral and undemocratic policies."

They concluded, "From this moment on, the government must promptly engage in official consultations with the medical community," and warned, "If there are no responsible improvement measures regarding our demands by noon on the 12th, we will carry out the first nationwide general strike of doctors on the 14th."

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