Expanding Medical School Quotas Now Is Too Late... Every Step Is 'Conflict, Conflict, Conflict'

Solutions to Save Essential and Local Healthcare: Increasing Medical Personnel

Continuous Conflicts
How Much to Increase Medical School Quotas
Methods for Medical School Quota Supply
Scientific Community Expresses Relative Deprivation

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The government's plan to increase medical school quotas by 1,000 to 3,000 students is being evaluated as a complete rollback of the previous discussions between the government and the medical community. Last June, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korean Medical Association reached an agreement through the Medical Issues Consultative Body to increase medical school quotas by 300 to 500 students. At that time, hardliners within the KMA even proposed impeaching KMA President Lee Pil-su, but there was a certain consensus within the medical community that, given the crisis in essential medical services, “the expansion of medical school quotas would partially begin from 2025.”

An anonymous KMA executive said, “However, the government's drastic increase plan, which we thought was fake news, turned out to be partially true, and this completely destroyed the trust between the government and the medical community,” adding, “It has reset the year-long discussions on medical school quota expansion back to square one. Internally, there are even voices saying that no increase in medical school quotas can be agreed upon until support measures for essential medical services are introduced.” He conveyed the atmosphere. The KMA has stated that if the government announces a concrete plan to expand medical school quotas soon, it will not hesitate to take strong actions such as a general strike.

"Urgent, but... every process is conflict"

There are calls to increase the number of doctors starting now to save disappearing essential and regional medical services, but every step is expected to be a continuous conflict. Not only is there controversy over how much to expand medical school quotas, but there will inevitably be growing pains regarding how to secure the workforce. The government's concerns are also growing accordingly.

Korean Medical Association Holds Meeting to Address Expansion of Medical School Quotas
[Image Source=Yonhap News]

First, as opposition from the medical community spread, the government decided to postpone the plan to expand medical school quotas, which was scheduled to be announced on the 19th. However, it seems the position that medical school quotas must be drastically increased will remain unchanged. On the 18th, Cho Kyu-hong, Minister of Health and Welfare, stated at the Health and Medical Policy Deliberation Committee’s Medical Workforce Expert Committee, “The government is seriously aware of realities such as the ‘pediatric open-run’ and ‘emergency room roundabout’ occurring throughout our society. We can no longer delay increasing the number of doctors,” expressing firm determination.

Since public opinion is favorable toward expanding medical school quotas, politicians from both ruling and opposition parties have expressed support. However, the opposition party argues that establishing new regional medical schools and implementing a regional doctor system together are necessary to save regional and essential medical services, making it inevitable that there will be difficulties over the method of quota expansion. On the other hand, the government and ruling party are considering increasing quotas mainly at existing small medical schools or regional national university medical schools, taking into account opposition from the medical community and practical conditions. Regarding this, the opposition said, “If conditions are not met, it will not be easy to proceed” (Im Oh-kyung, Democratic Party floor spokesperson).

The medical community says that in an era when medical personnel are scarce, increasing quotas through establishing new medical schools is practically impossible. Establishing a new medical school requires a faculty of more than 100 basic and clinical medicine professors and an affiliated hospital at the level of a general hospital with beds. A medical community official said, “These days, the medical field is in chaos with people refusing to become professors, so it is questionable how they will secure personnel.”

Regional medical schools, where even the supply of residents is becoming difficult, appeal, “Start with us first.” A regional medical school official said, “As essential medical services collapse, in cases like thoracic surgery, there is currently a one-year resident vacancy,” emphasizing, “We need to increase personnel at regional medical schools first to expect a trickle-down effect where the increase in personnel working in essential medical services continues even amid the concentration of non-reimbursed medical care.” Yang Dong-heon, director of Kyungpook National University Hospital, and Nam Woo-dong, director of Kangwon National University Hospital, said at the National Assembly Education Committee’s audit on the 17th, “It is almost too late even if we start increasing medical school quotas now.”

The scientific community is showing signs of opposition. “If the drastic increase in medical school quotas becomes visible, it will become even harder to attract talented individuals” (Professor A from a private university in Seoul in the science and engineering field),” they said. Professor A added, “Avoidance of science and engineering fields is obvious, and even existing researchers will try to enter the medical field. The medical school black hole will cause national security threats in various scientific sectors; it is only a matter of time.”

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