KMA: "Hasty Medical School Expansion Exposed in Hearing"... Demands National Investigation

"Dismissal of Vice Ministers of Ministry of Health and Welfare and Ministry of Education"
"Movement for Regime Resignation if Nursing Act is Forced"

The medical community demanded the dismissal of those involved and a government investigation at the National Assembly hearing held on the 16th, revealing the 'hasty medical school quota increase.' They also announced that if the Nursing Act legislation is not halted by the 22nd, they will launch a movement to oust the administration.

Im Hyuntaek, President of the Korean Medical Association (KMA), is speaking at a press conference on current issues held at the KMA headquarters in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, at 2 p.m. on the 19th.
Photo by Choi Taewon peaceful1@

On the 19th at 2 p.m., Im Hyun-taek, president of the Korea Medical Association (KMA), held a press conference at the KMA building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, stating, "At the National Assembly hearing, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Education ministers and vice ministers, and high-ranking officials failed to disclose whether stakeholders participated in the Medical School Quota Allocation Committee, yet insisted there was no problem. They only repeated that they are still negotiating with the Ministry of Strategy and Finance because the necessary budget for the quota increase has not been secured."

President Im added, "Jang Sang-yoon, Senior Secretary for Social Affairs at the Presidential Office, admitted at the hearing that the 2026 medical school quota is already 'confirmed,' revealing how lamentably foolish and irresponsible this government is."

He also stated that those responsible should be dismissed, as there is no scientific basis for the medical school quota increase. Im said, "The increase of 2,000 medical school quotas has no scientific basis, and during the process, on-site inspections of educational conditions were not properly conducted. Moreover, it has become publicly known that the allocation was pushed through hastily behind closed doors without leaving any records of who allocated what based on what grounds." He demanded President Yoon Seok-yeol to "dismiss Senior Secretary Jang Sang-yoon, Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong, Vice Minister Park Min-soo, Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho, and Vice Minister Oh Seok-hwan, who caused this situation."

He urged the National Assembly to "investigate the truth behind the 2,000 medical school quota increase through a government investigation and hold accountable the officials who lied under oath at the hearing."

He also criticized the Nursing Act, which is close to passing, and the Presidential Commission on Medical Reform (Special Committee). He said, "By Thursday, the 22nd, the National Assembly must halt the progress of harmful medical laws such as the Nursing Act, which the medical community opposes," and called for a stop to the Special Committee's discussions. Furthermore, he added, "(If our demands are not met,) we will mobilize all possible means to launch a movement to oust the administration."

Earlier, the National Assembly's Education Committee and Health and Welfare Committee jointly held a hearing on the 16th to review the government's medical school quota increase process. During this process, it was revealed that the Ministry of Education shredded documents related to the Allocation Review Committee (Allocation Committee), which was the basis for allocating the increased medical school quotas to universities, sparking controversy. The Nursing Act bill includes the legalization of Physician Assistant (PA) nurses. Recently, the ruling and opposition parties agreed to handle the bill at the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 28th.

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