Yoon: "Collective Actions Holding People's Lives Hostage Are Unacceptable... Increasing Medical School Quotas Is a Timely Task" (Comprehensive)

President Yoon Suk-yeol is speaking at the Cabinet meeting held on the 20th at the Yongsan Presidential Office Building in Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

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President Yoon Suk-yeol stated on the 20th that medical students and residents decided to collectively take a leave of absence and submitted resignation letters to hospitals in protest against the increase in medical school admissions, emphasizing that "collective actions should not be taken by holding the lives and health of the people hostage."

At the Cabinet meeting held at the Yongsan Presidential Office that afternoon, President Yoon pointed out the inevitability of medical reform and the government's support policies for the medical community, yet residents engaged in collective action. He urged them to return to their posts, saying, "Even though doctors are not public officials like soldiers or police officers, they must never engage in collective refusal of medical treatment."

President Yoon increased pressure by repeatedly mentioning why doctors, who protect the public's right to health, must not abandon medical sites. He stressed, "Protecting the lives and safety of the people is, along with national security and public order, the reason for the nation's existence and the most fundamental constitutional duty given to the government," adding, "From this perspective, the state must efficiently manage medical resources to safeguard the lives and health of the people."

He also enumerated problems occurring in the medical field, such as the collapse of essential regional medical services and nurse deaths due to the absence of surgeons in the Big 5 hospitals, emphasizing that "increasing medical school admissions is a task of the times." The demand for medical services is rapidly increasing, but supply cannot keep up. As a result, medical personnel in essential fields have decreased significantly, leading to the collapse of essential regional medical care.

In particular, President Yoon focused on explaining the necessity of expanding medical school quotas. He said, "The government has not increased medical school admissions by even one student in the past 27 years," and emphasized, "We all know well that increasing the number of doctors alone cannot solve the collapse of essential medical care. However, increasing the number of doctors is clearly a necessary condition to prevent the collapse of essential medical services."

He added, "The government has attempted to increase the number of doctors several times but has repeatedly failed and adjusted over the past 30 years," and stated, "Now, we have reached a point where failure itself can no longer be tolerated."

He actively refuted concerns that increasing admissions by 2,000 would lead to a decline in the quality of medical education. President Yoon said, "Some claim that increasing admissions by 2,000 is excessive and even raise baseless conspiracy theories. However, this number is still far too insufficient. Increasing admissions by 2,000 is literally the minimum expansion scale." He explained that even if medical school admissions increase starting next year, the first graduates would only emerge in 2031, and it would take at least 10 years to produce specialists to strengthen the essential medical system, meaning the increase of 2,000 essential medical doctors would only be realized by 2035.

He continued, "The claim that increasing medical school admissions will lower the quality of medical education is also incorrect," pointing out, "Seoul National University College of Medicine currently admits 135 students, but in 1983, it admitted 260. Over 40 years, medical demand has exploded, but admissions have been halved." President Yoon added, "The same applies to regional representative national medical schools such as Kyungpook National University, Chonnam National University, and Pusan National University. The doctors trained when admissions were higher were by no means less competent."

President Yoon urged, "Medical professionals, please join the medical reform that can no longer be delayed," repeatedly requesting residents and medical students to refrain from collective actions.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is speaking at the Cabinet meeting held on the 20th at the Yongsan Presidential Office Building in Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

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On the same day, President Yoon expressed concern about South Korea's severe low birthrate and mentioned plans to restructure low birthrate policies. He said, "The total fertility rate for 2023 will be announced in a few days," and predicted, "We will once again confirm with numbers how serious our low birthrate problem is."

According to the government, the total fertility rate is expected to drop to 0.68. Moreover, the population aged 70 and above is projected to surpass the population in their 20s for the first time ever, indicating that South Korea's chronic low birthrate and aging population issues will deepen further.

He continued, "It is true that there is no quick fix to the low birthrate problem in the short term," emphasizing, "We must thoroughly analyze the fundamental causes of low birthrate and carefully review existing policies to restructure low birthrate policies." The government also promised to accelerate structural reforms in labor, education, and other areas to alleviate unnecessary excessive competition.

President Yoon expressed gratitude for corporate efforts to overcome low birthrate, including recently unprecedented childbirth incentives. He said, "It is very encouraging that members of our society are coming together to solve social challenges," and added, "We will promptly prepare various support measures, including tax benefits, to further activate corporate efforts."

He ordered the Low Birthrate and Aging Society Committee, which recently appointed a new vice-chairman, to take on the role of a control tower for responding to low birthrate with extraordinary determination.

President Yoon said, "The vice-chairman of the Low Birthrate and Aging Society Committee will be changed from a non-standing to a full-time position, with rank and treatment upgraded, and a place will be created for you to discuss state affairs together at Cabinet meetings," urging, "Each ministry should work closely with the Low Birthrate and Aging Society Committee to discuss low birthrate measures in depth and promptly implement the discussed policies."

During his recent visit to Daejeon, where he held the twelfth public livelihood discussion, President Yoon announced plans to continue these discussions throughout the year. He emphasized, "The more I visit the field, the more I realize how many voices the government needs to listen to," and added, "Throughout this year, we will continue these public livelihood discussions to break down barriers between ministries and focus on tangible livelihood tasks through ministry reports and discussions."

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