Government and Medical Community Join Forces to Save Essential Healthcare... 'Medical Issues Consultative Body' Launched

Pediatric and Adolescent Issues to Be Addressed Urgently
Key Issues: Medical School Quota Increase and Public Medical School

Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong (right) and Chairman Lee Pil-su of the Korean Medical Association are shaking hands and greeting each other at the 'Medical Issues Consultative Body' meeting on the 26th.
[Photo by Ministry of Health and Welfare]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] To seek solutions for medical issues such as saving essential medical services, the government and the medical community have launched a consultative body after more than two years.

On the afternoon of the 26th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Medical Association held a 'Medical Issues Consultative Body' meeting at the Koreana Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Attendees included Cho Kyu-hong, Minister of Health and Welfare; Lim In-taek, Director of Health Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare; Lee Pil-soo, President of the Korea Medical Association; and Lee Kwang-rae, Chairman of the National Association of Metropolitan and Provincial Medical Associations.

At the meeting, the government and the medical community shared opinions on the direction of the consultative body ahead of the '1st Medical Issues Consultative Body' scheduled for the 30th, uniting their will to achieve the common goal of improving public health and advancing healthcare. The consultative body is expected to discuss ways to develop regional healthcare, essential medical services, medical education, and the residency training system. In particular, urgent issues such as the shortage of residents in essential specialties like pediatrics and resolving medical disparities between regions are expected to be addressed first.

Minister Cho said, "This is a meaningful and significant occasion marking the first step toward solving major issues," adding, "I hope that through the Medical Issues Consultative Body, we will achieve valuable results in strengthening essential medical services and normalizing healthcare." President Lee stated, "Starting with topics that can foster mutual understanding between the government and medical community, such as saving rapidly shrinking essential medical services, measures to improve regional healthcare which is deteriorating compared to the metropolitan area, development directions for medical education and residency training systems, and care issues in preparation for a super-aged society, let us create policies that benefit both the public and medical professionals."

The consultative body was launched on September 4, 2020, through a government-medical agreement but was temporarily suspended in February 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This marks the first time in about two years that the consultative body is being reactivated.

However, conflicts remain over the core issue of expanding medical school quotas. Previously, the Ministry of Health and Welfare attempted to expand medical school quotas and establish public medical schools in 2020 during the previous administration but withdrew the plans due to strong opposition from the medical community. At that time, the government and the Korea Medical Association agreed to discuss four major agendas?medical school quota expansion, establishment of public medical schools, pilot projects for herbal medicine coverage, and telemedicine?once the COVID-19 situation stabilized.

Recently, the Korea Medical Association clearly opposed the expansion of medical school quotas and the establishment of public medical schools, stating that "the core is to create an environment where doctors can smoothly enter essential and public medical fields." They emphasized, "The solution to prevent the collapse of essential medical services and to resolve regional medical disparities is not increasing the number of doctors but establishing incentives through strong administrative and financial support from the government, such as building infrastructure and providing sufficient compensation and improved treatment in vulnerable and less-preferred areas, thereby creating an environment where doctors voluntarily enter essential and regional medical fields."

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