Welfare Ministry: "No Review Conducted on 1-Year Postponement of Medical School Expansion" (Comprehensive)

"One-Year Grace Period Is Not Planned for Future Review"

The government has indicated that adjusting the scale of medical school admissions increase is not impossible. However, it firmly rejected the idea of a one-year postponement.

On the 8th, Park Min-su, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, stated at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters briefing on the doctors' collective action, "Reversing the increase policy after announcing the allocation by each school is expected to cause further confusion," but added, "It is not physically impossible to make changes before the new student recruitment guidelines are finalized."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The increase in medical school admissions is typically reflected in the early admission guidelines for university entrance exams, which are usually announced in late May after each university completes its preparatory work.

However, regarding the Korean Medical Association's proposed 'one-year postponement plan,' the government drew a clear line, saying, "It has not been reviewed."

At the morning briefing, Vice Minister Park said about the one-year postponement plan, "It is not based on scientific evidence; it is understood as a suggestion to temporarily halt the increase policy and have further discussions," adding, "We will review that internally as well. However, at this point, it is difficult to conclusively say whether it can be accepted or not."

Compared to the previously firm stance, this response could be interpreted as a step back, leading to speculation that the medical school admissions increase plan might be postponed for a year.

However, the Ministry of Health and Welfare promptly issued a statement clarifying, "The government reiterates its basic position that if the medical community presents unified opinions based on scientific and rational grounds regarding the medical school quota, it is open to discussion," and "No decision has been made regarding the future review of the one-year postponement plan."

Vice Minister Park held an emergency briefing in the afternoon and reiterated, "There has been no internal review of the one-year postponement of the medical school admissions increase."

He explained, "Some media reported that the government might allow a one-year postponement of the medical school admissions increase and that reducing the increase is not physically impossible until the new student recruitment guidelines are finalized," adding, "There has been no internal review of the one-year postponement, nor are there plans to review it in the future."

Regarding his morning remark that "internal review will be conducted," he said, "I used that expression because I thought it would be better not to clearly state all possibilities (including that there are no plans for future review)." He added, "The increase of 2,000 students was decided after long consideration, so if that decision is to be changed, scientific evidence of an appropriate level and a unified proposal must be presented." He further stated, "At this stage, it is practically difficult to review other proposals that deviate from this."

On the 7th, the Korean Medical Association Emergency Committee announced that it would hold a joint press conference with the National Association of Medical School Professors (Jeonui Gyohyeop), the Korean Intern Resident Association (Daejeonhyeop), and the Korean Medical School and Medical Graduate Student Association (Uidae Hyup) to demand a renegotiation of the scale of medical school admissions increase after the general election.

Kim Seong-geun, the Public Relations Committee Chair of the Korean Medical Association Emergency Committee, said, "If a committee is formed to accurately review the scale of the medical school admissions increase by postponing it for one year, a mutually respectful outcome can be achieved."

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