Presidential Office: "Distribution of Medical School Expansion to be Completed by End of Next Month... Difficult to Reduce by 2,000"

"Report on Actual Capacity and Conduct Thorough Review"

On the 20th, citizens at the Seoul Station waiting room watched President Yoon Seok-yeol's opening remarks at the Cabinet meeting regarding the collective action of doctors opposing the increase in medical school admissions. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The Presidential Office announced on the 26th regarding the increase of 2,000 medical school students, stating, "We will conduct a thorough review after receiving reports on the actual capacity from 40 medical schools nationwide." Considering the firm necessity of increasing medical school admissions and the position of prospective medical students who need to start managing their student records immediately, it is difficult to delay the timeline beyond April. A Presidential Office official said in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the 26th, "We will accept applications for increased admissions based on recalculated capacity from the 40 universities by April 4th," adding, "We will make a decision after reviewing the submitted data."

The Presidential Office maintains that since about 17 medical schools in the country are small-scale with fewer than 50 students, and the need for expansion is raised mainly around these schools, it is difficult to reduce the increase from 2,000 students. Regarding the possibility of compromising on the number 2,000, the official said, "The figure of 2,000 is actually less than the required personnel, and the response letter is just a procedural step." The day before, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated that "the appropriate scale of medical school expansion is around 400 to 500 students," but the Presidential Office reiterated that there is still no room for compromise on the scale of the increase.

The distribution of the increased medical school admissions by school will also be finalized next month. A Presidential Office official emphasized, "It is appropriate to complete the Ministry of Education’s allocation of medical school quotas as soon as possible without extending beyond April." The Ministry of Education also stated in a briefing that day, "We are receiving medical school quota demands from each university and will begin the allocation process in earnest," adding, "We are targeting the end of March."

However, if the Ministry of Education conducts another demand survey targeting each university, it cannot be ruled out that the desired number of students may change. Kim Chang-soo, chairman of the Emergency Measures Committee of the National Association of Medical School Professors and a professor of preventive medicine at Yonsei University, said in a phone interview that day, "Application demand cannot be an objective indicator, and the realities of the university, financial capacity, and personnel must be considered," adding, "The previous demand survey was collected only at the level of university deans and presidents, not from the field line."

Meanwhile, the government set the deadline for the return of residents who submitted collective resignation letters as the 29th and began efforts to persuade them. On that day, Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said, "The government is fully aware of the seriousness of the current situation and makes a final appeal," adding, "If they return to the hospital by the 29th, we will not hold them accountable for past responsibilities."

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