'Increase in Doctors' Supported by Yoo Seung-min... Medical Community Reacts "Critical Blow to Public Health"'

Yoo Seung-min "Preparing for Rapid Increase in Medical Demand Due to Aging"
Medical Community "Increasing Doctors Alone Will Lead to Worst Outcome"

The medical community has reacted strongly to reports that the government is pushing to increase the number of medical school admissions by 1,000 from the current level to around 4,000. Critics argue that simply increasing admissions without addressing fundamental issues will not solve the shortage of medical services. However, even Yoo Seung-min, a non-Yoon faction member of the ruling party, expressed support, stating, "I actively support the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's policy to expand medical school admissions."

On the 16th, Yoo posted on his social media (SNS), "Considering the increasing medical demand due to rapid aging, the severe shortage of doctors in essential medical fields and rural areas, and the need to nurture doctor-scientist talent, expanding medical school admissions is an absolutely necessary policy," he said.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The government, the People Power Party, and the Presidential Office held a meeting at the Prime Minister's residence in Samcheong-dong the day before and agreed to carefully review the issue of expanding medical school admissions. It was reported that they did not discuss specific details such as the scale of the expansion as initially expected. The expansion of medical school admissions is being considered as one of the measures to address the shortage of medical personnel, such as the "emergency room rotation" problem.

Yoo emphasized, "For this reform to succeed, the government and the National Assembly must actively engage in dialogue with doctors to reach the maximum possible consensus," adding, "The expansion of medical school admissions should be pursued within a comprehensive plan that includes adjusting health insurance fees for essential medical specialties, measures to revitalize rural healthcare, expansion of emergency medical services, and improvement of doctors' long working hours. Only then can this difficult reform policy succeed."

Seong Il-jong, a member of the People Power Party, also raised his voice, saying, "The expansion of medical school admissions, which no previous administration has been able to achieve, must be accomplished this time," and added, "While the low fee system for essential medical care is one cause of the imbalance in doctor supply, fundamentally, the doctors' cartel is also very strong."

He said, "Medical demand continues to increase, but the medical school admission quota of 3,058 has remained unchanged for 18 years," and added, "During the Kim Dae-jung administration, the separation of prescribing and dispensing was implemented, reducing medical school admissions by 351. As a result, about 7,000 doctors have not been produced over the past 20 years, and the public has borne the brunt of this."

However, the medical community has not held back criticism of the Yoon administration's push to expand doctor quotas. Lim Hyun-taek, president of the Korean Pediatric Society, said on SNS, "If the number of doctors is increased endlessly without solving the fundamental problems, the sense of fulfillment, pride, and future will disappear even faster, ultimately causing a fatal blow to public health," urging for fundamental problem-solving.

He emphasized, "The reason young doctors do not support essential medical care and why even the existing doctors who remain in essential medical fields are leaving is because, under the current situation, they are not constantly appreciated, encouraged, or rewarded, but rather made to think that 'providing essential medical care offers no fulfillment, pride, or future, only risks.'"

There are also concerns that simply increasing the number of doctors will not solve the shortage of medical services. Jeong Hyeong-jun, policy committee member of the Health and Medical Organizations Coalition, appeared on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' that day and said, "Of course, I also think the number of doctors should be increased, but the 'how' is important," adding, "To stop the emergency room rotation and pediatric department 'open runs,' the number of doctors capable of emergency care must be increased."

He continued, "While the supply of residents in medical specialties is determined by specialized departments, for example, even if someone graduates from thoracic surgery or neurosurgery, there is no way to prevent them from later leaving to do cosmetic dermatology instead of performing emergency surgeries in those fields," and said, "Without solving this issue, increasing numbers again may not have much effect and could bring us back to square one."

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