Government to Announce Medical School Expansion Scale Tomorrow... Korean Medical Association Holds Emergency Press Conference

Held Medical Policy Deliberation Committee Meeting to Decide
Expected Increase Scale: 1500-2000 Personnel
Strong Opposition from Medical Associations Inevitable

The government is expected to hold a medical policy review meeting on the 6th to announce the scale of the expansion of medical school admission quotas to be applied in the 2025 academic year.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the medical community on the 5th, the Ministry notified the members of the Health and Medical Workforce Policy Review Committee (Bojungsim), a medical policy review body, of the Bojungsim schedule on the 6th. The government previously stated that it would comprehensively consider the capacity of medical schools to accommodate students, regional medical infrastructure, and workforce redistribution plans to determine the scale of the increase, and announce it after discussions at Bojungsim.

A medical school of a university in Seoul city. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 1st of this month, at a public discussion chaired by President Yoon Seok-yeol, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced, "Considering the shortage of 15,000 doctors by 2035, we will expand medical school admission quotas starting from the 2025 academic year." Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong expressed strong determination for the increase during a briefing held after the public discussion, stating, "Based on the forecast of doctor workforce supply and demand, we will significantly expand medical school quotas from 2025 and actively promote medical demand management and medical workforce redistribution."

Considering that it takes about 10 years from entering medical school to becoming a specialist, the expected scale of the increase in admissions for the 2025 academic year is between 1,500 and 2,000 students. However, given the long time required to train doctors, there is also a possibility of initially selecting more than 2,000 students and then adjusting the scale of the increase later.

Accordingly, strong opposition is expected from medical organizations that have so far expressed opposition to the expansion of medical school quotas. Medical organizations such as the Korean Medical Association (KMA) and the Korean Intern Resident Association (Daejeonhyeop) have warned that if the government pushes forward with the expansion, they may engage in collective actions such as mass sick leave and strikes.

On the afternoon of the 2nd, Daejeonhyeop reportedly held an emergency online representatives meeting to review key points of government policy and discuss response measures in case the scale of the medical school quota increase is announced. Daejeonhyeop is considered the most influential group among doctors in terms of impact if collective actions such as strikes occur. Last month, they also released survey results showing that 86% of respondents among residents expressed willingness to engage in collective actions if the expansion is enforced. The National Association of Metropolitan and Provincial Medical Association Presidents also stated, "If the government unilaterally pushes the essential medical policy package and medical school quota increase, we will not hesitate to join residents in a general strike," increasing the possibility of collective action.

The Korean Medical Association, which has organized the Special Committee for Comprehensive Medical Countermeasures to respond to the government's medical school quota expansion policy, plans to hold an "Emergency Press Conference on the Government's Unilateral Medical School Quota Expansion" on the morning of the 6th. According to a member survey conducted by the KMA Medical Policy Research Institute (from November 10 to 17 last year), 3,277 out of 4,010 respondents (81.7%) opposed the government's expansion of medical school quotas. The most common reason for opposition, at 49.9%, was the opinion that "there are already enough doctors."

Amid growing opposition from medical organizations, the government maintains its firm stance on responding decisively. Minister Cho Kyu-hong appeared on KBS '7 o’clock News' on the 1st of this month and emphasized, "The government has prepared emergency medical response measures and firm countermeasures against illegal actions. While we do not wish for these measures to be implemented, even if there is some opposition or resistance, we will focus solely on the people and ensure the completion of medical reform." The government has established a strong response policy to immediately issue work resumption orders if doctors go on strike and to discipline those who do not comply.

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