Medical School Expansion Supporter Disciplined... Kim Yoon Says "Not Surprising"

'Claim for "3,000 Staff Increase," Professor Kim Yoon of Seoul National University
"Disciplinary Actions for Speaking Uncomfortable Truths in the Past as Well"'

The Korean Medical Association (KMA) has decided to pursue disciplinary action against Professor Kim Yoon of Seoul National University College of Medicine, who has been at the forefront of advocating for an increase in medical school admissions. In response, Professor Kim stated that there had been previous attempts to discipline him for speaking uncomfortable truths, saying, "It is not surprising."

In an interview with MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' on the 13th, Professor Kim revealed that he was also subject to disciplinary action by the KMA during the 2020 COVID-19 crisis.

Professor Kim said, "Regarding the claim that the low COVID-19 patient death rate in our country was due to a well-functioning healthcare system centered on private hospitals, I broadcasted that this was not the case. Public hospitals treated 70-80% of all COVID patients, and large hospitals had empty ICU and inpatient beds but refused to admit patients. During the Daegu outbreak, the mayor asked governors nationwide to accept patients from the Daegu region," adding, "(At that time) I was referred to the Ethics Committee, but I understand that the KMA itself withdrew the charges."

He continued, "It is probably because I keep talking about uncomfortable truths that the KMA wants to hide," and said that his persistence in making such claims is "unavoidable because the public needs to know."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Professor Kim has long argued that to reduce the gap in the number of doctors between the OECD countries and South Korea, the current medical school quota of 3,058 students should be gradually increased to around 6,000. Regarding Professor Kim, the KMA issued a press release on the 9th stating, "This member has misled the public by portraying the KMA as representing wealthy private practitioners and used expressions such as 'protecting their own interests,' thereby damaging the reputation of all doctors," and announced that it would pursue disciplinary action.

Professor Kim expressed concerns about the government's plan to conduct a demand survey targeting medical schools nationwide and to announce the results in relation to increasing medical school admissions. He said, "The original purpose of increasing medical school admissions was to address essential medical issues and fill medical gaps in rural areas," adding, "It is not simply about how many more students universities want to admit, but there should be criteria set on how to allocate those quotas regionally to solve regional and essential medical problems."

He further added, "If the government announces the survey results without such criteria, there is a risk that the results might be misunderstood as the government's intended scale for increasing medical school admissions."

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