Yoon: "Medical reform is as crucial as national defense... Will handle according to law and principles"

Concerns Raised Over Medical Sector's Collective Action Escalation
"It Won't Pass Like the Previous Government"
Medical Reform Expected to Be Reemphasized at Cabinet Meeting

President Yoon Suk-yeol is speaking at the Cabinet meeting held on the 6th at the Yongsan Presidential Office building in Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon Suk-yeol expressed deep concern on the 20th over the medical community's collective action intensifying in opposition to the plan to increase medical school quotas, reiterating the necessity of medical reform. This is interpreted as his determination to push forward medical reform without repeating past mistakes when previous administrations abandoned telemedicine and medical school expansion due to strong opposition from the medical community.

On the same day, a senior official from the Presidential Office told Asia Economy in a phone interview, "Doctors should not leave patients' side," adding, "However, medical personnel who leave patients' side will have to be dealt with according to law and principles."

According to the Presidential Office official, President Yoon was briefed the day before by his aides on the medical community's backlash, including collective resignation of residents, and emphasized, "Medical care is a grave issue no different from national defense or public security," stating, "We will not let this pass like the previous government." In particular, regarding the phrase circulating in some parts of the medical community that "the government cannot win against doctors," President Yoon criticized, "The medical community cannot win against the people." He pointed out that in a situation where the number of doctors is absolutely insufficient, including in essential and regional medical fields, the reins of medical reform cannot be delayed any longer for the sake of the people's lives and health.

President Yoon plans to further strengthen his public messages on the urgency and necessity of medical reform going forward. On the afternoon of the same day, he is scheduled to preside over a Cabinet meeting and directly explain to the public the background and reasons for the policy to expand medical school quotas. Considering that approximately 15,000 more doctors will be needed by 2035 to respond to rapid aging and demand in the health industry, he will engage in public persuasion regarding the inevitability of the policy despite opposition from the medical community.