Welfare Vice Minister: "Doctor Shortage Is Clear... Will Increase to a Level That Solves the Problem"

"Increasing the Number of Doctors Is Inevitable... Thorough Discussions with the Medical Community and Healthcare Consumers"
"Nurses Should Also Be Increased"... "Even with Quota Expansion, Competition Among Private Practitioners Won't Be Intense"

Park Min-su, the 2nd Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, reiterated his intention to expand the medical school quota, stating that the shortage of doctors is a clear fact and that the medical school quota will be increased to a level that can solve the problem.

On the 21st, Vice Minister Park appeared on YTN and explained, "The number of doctors is clearly insufficient. The number of doctors is 60% of the average of OECD member countries, and the number of medical school graduates is also about half," adding, "Due to aging, medical demand has increased significantly, so increasing the number of doctors is inevitably necessary for the time being." He continued, "Countries like the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Germany have already expanded their medical school quotas due to aging, but Korea is too late. There is an urgent need to expand."

Vice Minister Park emphasized consultation not only with the medical community but also with experts and medical service users. He said, "We will decide the (medical school quota) size based on sufficient discussion and consensus with experts, the medical community, and medical service users," and stressed, "I clearly express the will to expand to a level that can solve on-site problems."

The government has been promoting a plan to expand the medical school admission quota, which has been fixed at 3,058 since 2006, starting from the 2025 university entrance examination. Although detailed plans such as the extent of the quota expansion were scheduled to be announced on the 19th, the announcement was postponed due to opposition from medical organizations.

Instead, the government announced plans to strengthen regional healthcare by lifting quota and wage regulations to elevate national university hospitals to the so-called 'Capital Region Big 5' level, as well as support measures for the medical community such as raising fees for essential and local medical services.

Vice Minister Lee said, "We are not trying to solve all problems simply by expanding the quota, but without quota expansion, it is difficult to solve the issues, so we are comprehensively planning various policies," and predicted, "The medical community will likely share this view. There will be some consensus on the size of the medical school quota."

Vice Minister Lee also expressed the intention to increase the number of nurses along with doctors, saying, "Increasing the number of nurses as well as doctors will improve the overall hospital capacity and service level." Regarding the lifting of quota and wage regulations for national university hospitals, he explained, "It is a known fact that pediatrics and obstetrics and gynecology are difficult fields. We will start with the fields where securing personnel is most difficult."

The government's support measures for the medical community involve an annual investment of 1 trillion won from the health insurance budget. Concerns have been raised that this could increase the burden on the public amid worries about a deficit in the health insurance budget. There are also opinions that an increase in doctors could lead to higher medical expenses for the public.

Vice Minister Park responded, "We are making efforts to stabilize the health insurance budget regardless of the number of doctors," emphasizing, "When patients receive treatment and hospitalization, medical expenses are incurred. The lives of the people are a value that cannot be exchanged for cost." He also suggested, "If good jobs increase in university hospitals, even if the medical school quota is increased, competition in private clinics will not be as intense as expected," adding, "For this, we plan to improve compensation for essential medical care."

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