"Doctors' YouTubers Suffer After Opposing Moon's Medical School Expansion Plan"

Doctor YouTube Channel 'Doctor Friends' Statement Posted
"Confused About What to Do If Pressured"

"(Three years ago) our video was not a personal opinion but an extremely political statement."

As medical organizations continue to issue statements regarding the plan to expand medical school quotas starting from the 2025 academic year, criticism is also mounting against 'doctor YouTubers' who expressed opposition when similar policies were pursued by the previous government.

As subscribers demanded expressions of opinion, several YouTubers released statements. On the 17th, the YouTube channel run by doctors with 1.13 million subscribers, ‘Doctor Friends,’ announced their stance on the Yoon Seok-yeol administration’s plan to expand medical school quotas.

Dr. Friends announcing a statement opposing the expansion of medical school quotas during the Moon Jae-in administration.
[Photo by Dr. Friends capture]

Previously, a cast member of Doctor Friends clearly opposed the expansion of medical school quotas in 2020. This time, Doctor Friends criticized the increase in the number of doctors but predicted that doctors would not go on strike.

The channel is jointly operated by specialists Jinseung Oh, Changyun Woo, and Nakjun Lee, and the statement was posted under Lee’s name.

Lee said, “Three years ago, the public medical school policy was announced, and as time passed, conflicts between the government and the medical community intensified,” adding, “There were an enormous number of comments demanding that both supporters and opponents express their opinions.”

He continued, "Since everyone involved was on the front lines, we concluded that expressing opinions was possible, but countless critical comments were posted on the video. There were even death threats," and added, "I regret it. However, even if I could go back to that time, I am still confused about what would be the right thing to do if subjected to such strong pressure."

He further stated, "There is an expectation that increasing the number of doctors will lead to more doctors entering essential medical fields such as pediatrics, surgery, and obstetrics and gynecology, which have effectively become less preferred specialties,” and “Considering that even those who have already obtained specialist qualifications are moving into cosmetic treatments, the quota expansion is difficult to see as an appropriate policy."

He added, "However, I heard that if we support hospitals that serve as regional base hospitals and increase the number of doctors who must work for a considerable period in designated regions beyond the set quotas, there might be some effect. This changed my perspective a bit," and concluded, "Whatever happens, I hope at least the current level of the medical system is maintained."

Lee said, "I do not think that blindly increasing the number of doctors will help maintain or improve this," and added, "But even my opinion might unconsciously be influenced by competition for resources or a sense of camaraderie among colleagues."

Changyun Woo, who also operates the YouTube channel, commented on the post, "Our wish might be the same as all of yours: that the healthcare system of the Republic of Korea continues to be healthy," and added, "We also become patients, and someday my children will grow old and fall ill."

[Photo by Yonhap News]

Earlier, on the community board of the YouTube channel ‘Our Neighborhood Obstetrics and Gynecology, Oururisan,’ which has 270,000 subscribers, a post opposing the expansion of medical school quotas stated, "Oh, I’m tired of this," and "We are not consulted or involved in deciding the policy, and we are not watching the news all day because we are busy, so to those who immediately comment ‘keep quiet’ as soon as the news comes out, I say this."

The channel is operated by three obstetrics and gynecology specialists known to be in a ‘less preferred department.’ They also previously expressed opposition to the public medical school policy.

Meanwhile, the government is considering expanding the medical school quota, which has been capped at 3,058 since 2006, by more than 1,000. President Yoon Seok-yeol is scheduled to directly announce the scale, schedule, and method of the quota expansion on the 19th. The Moon Jae-in administration announced plans in 2020 to increase medical school quotas by 4,000 over ten years at 400 per year but halted the plan due to doctors’ strikes.

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