KMA: "Expanding Medical School Quotas is a Lower Priority"... Government: "We Will Broaden Discussion Participants"

Council [Image source=Yonhap News]

As the government and the medical community enter the 'second round' of discussions over the expansion of medical school quotas, it appears that reaching an agreement on the extent of the increase will take considerable time.

On the 15th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korean Medical Association (KMA) discussed the issue of expanding medical school quotas at the 11th Medical Issues Consultative Body meeting held at Dalgaebi in Jung-gu, Seoul. Both sides had previously agreed to increase the medical school quotas starting from the 2025 admissions. However, during this meeting, tensions arose between the two parties even before discussing how much to increase the quotas.

Lee Gwang-rae, president of the Incheon Medical Association under the KMA, opened by stating, “Increasing medical school quotas and expanding the number of doctors will cause numerous side effects.” He argued, “It will increase national medical expenses, bankrupt the health insurance system?which is among the best in the world?and accelerate the concentration of outstanding talent into medical schools, leading to the collapse of science and engineering fields.” Since training medical personnel takes at least 10 years, he emphasized that improving compensation for existing medical staff should take priority to address the current shortage of essential and regional healthcare.

Furthermore, Lee stressed, “Even if we discuss expanding medical personnel as proposed by the government, an objective and accurate analysis of the current demand for medical personnel in Korea must come first.” He also added, “Productive discussions are only possible if there are concrete implementation plans to ensure that the increased personnel are fully allocated to essential and regional healthcare.”

On the same day, the government stated that not only medical organizations but also various stakeholders should participate in discussions about medical school quotas. This appears to be a response to criticism from civic groups and experts questioning whether it is appropriate to discuss medical school quotas solely with the involved medical organizations, excluding healthcare users and others. Lee Hyung-hoon, Director of Health and Medical Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said, “Considering the impact of expanding doctors and reforming health and medical personnel on public life and health, education, national industry, and local communities, it is necessary to form a broad discussion table involving experts and various stakeholders.”

Both sides agreed to continue discussions on expanding medical school quotas at the 12th Consultative Body meeting scheduled for 3 p.m. on the 29th.

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