Presidential Office: "No Justification for Doctors' Collective Action... Medical School Expansion Irreversible"

Emergency Room Overcrowding Reaches Irreversible Levels
Specialist Quotas Increased but Doctor Numbers Remain Insufficient
Presidential Office Official Says "Doctors Must Cooperate for the Greater Good"

The Presidential Office stated on the 12th that it has no intention of backing down regarding the medical associations, including the Korean Intern Resident Association, announcing collective action, saying, "We believe that the increase in medical school quotas has reached an irreversible stage."

A senior official from the Presidential Office responded to a reporter's question at the Yongsan Presidential Office on the same day, asking, "Doctors have announced collective action. Is there any message the Presidential Office can deliver?" The official said, "I don't think this is something the Presidential Office should address directly right now," but added, "Regarding the doctors' collective action, I think it lacks justification."

Earlier, on the 6th, the government announced plans to increase the medical school quota from the current 3,058 to 5,058 starting with the 2025 academic year, aiming to revitalize regional and essential medical care. This decision was based on the assessment that there will be a shortage of 15,000 doctors by 2035.

In response, the medical community opposes the increase in medical school quotas, arguing that the shortage is not due to the number of doctors but rather due to poor working conditions leading to a lack of medical personnel in regional and essential medical sectors. The Korean Intern Resident Association plans to hold an emergency general assembly online at 9 p.m. that day to discuss countermeasures. The Emergency Medicine Society's Emergency Response Committee also issued a statement the previous day opposing the government's policy. The Korean Medical Association has announced a rally opposing the increase in medical school quotas scheduled for the 15th.

The official pointed out, "There have been discussions about the medical school quota for a long time. Nevertheless, there has been a lack of progress," adding, "I think we have now reached an irreversible stage." The shortage of essential medical personnel, such as the rotation in emergency rooms and the 'pediatric open-run' phenomenon, is intensifying social problems.

He continued, "It has become clear that situations like the rotation in emergency rooms and the pediatric open-run can happen to anyone, anytime. Therefore, discussions about increasing medical school quotas have been ongoing beyond the current administration," and I believe doctors should cooperate in a very magnanimous manner regarding this matter," he demanded.

He also emphasized that while the number of other professionals, such as lawyers, has increased tenfold over the past 40 years with rising incomes, the number of doctors has not increased. The official stressed, "Due to the implementation of the separation of prescribing and dispensing in 2006, the medical school quota actually decreased by 350. Even if left unchanged for 18 years, the quota for doctors, which should have increased by about 6,500, has instead decreased by 6,500," underscoring the need to increase medical school quotas.

Furthermore, he reiterated that increasing the number of doctors by 2,000 annually is not excessive. The official said, "Even if we start increasing by 2,000 now, it will still be insufficient given the current medical reality," adding, "In that sense, I believe doctors' collective action should definitely be restrained. The government is preparing as much as possible to engage in dialogue and persuasion with the doctors."

Meanwhile, regarding a media report that President Yoon is considering holding a meeting with news directors and editors-in-chief to enhance communication, the official responded, "Nothing has been decided yet."

[Image source=Yonhap News]