Government: "Medical Reform Plan Aligns with Residents' Demands... Minimizing Impact on Specialist Certification Upon Return"

Minister Lee Sang-min of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety Chairs Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting
Urges Return to Field and Details Medical System Reform Plan
To Residents: "You Must Come Forward to the Dialogue Table and Voice Your Demands"

Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min urged the prompt return of medical students and residents, stating that the government's direction for medical reform is not different from their demands. In particular, Minister Lee promised, "The government will take measures to ensure that residents who return can continue their training normally and that the impact on obtaining specialist qualifications is minimized."

Serving as the 2nd Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters for the doctors' collective action, Minister Lee said before the morning meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on the 4th, "The medical system reform plan reflects the long-standing requests of the medical community, including establishing a medical delivery system, reforming the essential medical fee system, strengthening the safety net for medical accidents, and transitioning to specialist-centered hospitals."

Minister of the Interior and Safety Sang-min Lee.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

In particular, Minister Lee said, "Now is the time to promptly resolve the confusion in the medical field and concretize the medical reform plan together through constructive dialogue," and urged, "I hope the residents will also come to the dialogue table, actively present your demands, and return to your original place beside the patients."

He also mentioned the 'Patient Urging Rally for the Withdrawal of Doctors' Collective Strike and the Enactment of Recurrence Prevention Law' held by 92 patient organizations starting from that day. Minister Lee reiterated, "I hope the medical community will stop collective actions and strikes that threaten patients' lives and health and promptly normalize the medical field."

He also brought up the distribution plan for the increased medical school admission quotas in the future. "To expand the absolutely insufficient number of doctors, the government plans to increase next year's medical school admission quota by 1,509 and recruit 1,168, which is 77.4% of the increased number, from medical schools outside the metropolitan area," he explained. "Accordingly, over the next three years starting next year, we will increase the number of full-time faculty at national universities by 1,000, support the expansion of university practice rooms, equipment, and learning spaces, and expand the installation of clinical education training centers at national university hospitals to do our best to train the increasing number of medical students into competent doctors."

He added, "I would like to express my gratitude to the public who continue to support medical reform without change," and said, "The government will firmly pursue medical reform for the life and health of the people with a resolute will."

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