Will the Medical School Quota Expansion Failures Under Moon Administration Succeed Under Yoon Administration?

Increase Unavoidable Due to Essential Staff Shortage
Presidential Office and Government Actively Reviewing
KMA Announces Strong Response
Two Strikes During Moon Administration

The Presidential Office has begun active consideration ahead of the government's announcement regarding the expansion of medical school admission quotas. This is based on the judgment that increasing the number of doctors is inevitable to address the shortage of essential medical personnel caused by population aging and the concentration in specific medical fields. However, as strong opposition from medical associations is expected, there is a cautious atmosphere avoiding any mention of the specific scale of the increase.

According to the Presidential Office and ruling party sources on the 16th, the Presidential Office is reviewing the expansion of medical school quotas, judging that despite the shortage of essential medical personnel, the expansion has not been made, resulting in inadequate health rights and medical service provision for the public. Currently, the domestic medical school quota has been fixed at 3,058 since 2006, while essential medical personnel in fields such as pediatrics and obstetrics and gynecology are insufficient, leading to frequent cases where patients transfer hospitals and die.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon Suk-yeol visited Seoul National University Children's Hospital in February this year to directly inspect issues such as the shortage of doctors, and it is expected that he will soon make a decision to significantly increase the quota. At that time, President Yoon instructed related ministries, saying, "Taking care of children's health is the nation's top priority," and "Quickly establish a medical system where children and parents can receive treatment with peace of mind." Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong also announced during the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee audit on the 11th that "The government is strongly committed to expanding the number of doctors," and "We are working to increase the medical school quota starting from the 2025 admissions." The Presidential Office, government, and ruling party held a high-level party-government consultation meeting the day before to discuss the expansion of medical personnel. This is interpreted as a finalizing step before the government announces a plan to significantly increase medical school quotas on the 19th. Within the Presidential Office, there is a stance that since the expansion of medical school quotas is included in the national agenda, it will be actively reviewed and decided upon.

However, opposition from medical associations to the expansion of medical school quotas is expected, and there is also a somewhat cautious atmosphere about directly raising another conflict factor just days after the by-election for the mayor of Gangseo District. Previously, when the Moon Jae-in administration announced in August 2020 that it would increase the medical school quota to 4,000, doctors nationwide opposed the increase and held two general strikes. This time as well, the Korea Medical Association (KMA), the largest medical organization in the country, has announced that it will convene a meeting of doctor representatives on the 17th and officially adopt a hardline stance. The medical community's position is that securing essential medical personnel requires improvements in fees for essential medical fields and investments in medical and training environments, not an expansion of medical school quotas. Moreover, they are protesting that their opinions have not been collected.

According to ruling party officials, although the current situation of the medical community was discussed at the high-level party-government consultation meeting, the specific scale of the increase was not discussed, reflecting a cautious stance. The Presidential Office also distances itself from speculations such as a 1,000-person increase in medical school quotas or President Yoon making a direct announcement. A Presidential Office official warned, "Reports suggesting that President Yoon ordered a 1,000-person increase or will directly announce the expansion plan on the 19th are completely unfounded."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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