Yoon "Continue Medical Reform"... Medical Community "Need to Reconsider from Scratch, Maintain Existing Position"

Yoon "Reforms Won't Stop... Will Listen to Reasonable Opinions"
KMA "Investigation Lacks Significance... Reform Policy Must Change"
Medical School Professors "Medical Community's Unified Proposal, Reconsider from Scratch as Before"
Resigning Residents "Please Re-discuss Medical School Expansion from the Beginning"

President Yoon Suk-yeol, in his first statement since the general election defeat, announced that he will continue to push forward medical reforms including the expansion of medical school quotas, but the medical community expressed disappointment and stated that they will maintain their existing stance.

Kim Seong-geun, Chairman of the Emergency Response Committee's Public Relations Committee of the Korean Medical Association, is holding a regular briefing at 3 p.m. on the 17th at the Korean Medical Association Hall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.
Photo by Choi Tae-won peaceful1@

On the 16th, President Yoon said at the Cabinet meeting held at the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul, regarding the election results, "Over the past two years since my inauguration, I have walked the path for national interest focusing only on the people, but I have not met the people's expectations," adding, "I will communicate more with a humbler and more flexible attitude, and I will listen to public opinion myself."

He continued, "Structural reforms for the future of the Republic of Korea cannot stop," and added, "We will continue to push forward medical reforms, but will pay more attention to reasonable opinions."

It is expected that unless the government’s position changes, there will be no movement such as medical-government dialogue or the return of resigned residents. On the same day, Kim Seong-geun, the Public Relations Commissioner of the Emergency Committee of the Korean Medical Association (KMA), said, "The statement about paying more attention to reasonable opinions sounds like meaningless rhetoric," and "The Emergency Committee’s position that the expansion of medical school quotas needs to be reconsidered from the beginning remains unchanged."

The next day, at a regular briefing held at the KMA Hall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, he said, "Yesterday, the president announced his position for the first time since the general election. However, it was regrettable that there was almost no mention of the current medical-government confrontation in the statement," adding, "I believe the president is well aware that the current situation cannot be resolved simply by mentioning medical reform and saying he will listen more to reasonable opinions."

He added, "I think the person who can solve the current problem is the president," and "I ask that the policy be changed to stop the expansion of medical school quotas and allow new discussions in a reasonable and objective organization."

Medical school professors also did not hide their disappointment at President Yoon’s remarks. Choi Chang-min, Chair of the Emergency Committee of the National Association of Medical School Professors (NAMSP) and a professor of respiratory medicine at Seoul Asan Medical Center, said, "We have not yet prepared an official position, but since the government (in effect) has no position, there is nothing to say," adding, "We wanted a clearer statement, but there was none at all."

The National Association of Medical School Professors (NAMSP) also issued its 8th statement on the 17th, urging the government for prompt dialogue with the medical community amid the imminent collapse of medical services, and stated, "The medical community’s unified position has been, from the beginning, to reconsider the expansion of medical school quotas from the starting point."

They also argued that expanding medical school quotas cannot solve the essential medical crisis. They said, "The crisis in essential medical care fundamentally occurred because the state did not take responsibility for public medical resources and left them to the private sector," adding, "Discussing increasing the number of doctors before creating an environment where doctors can practice without being tied to fees and clinical income is meaningless."

Resigned residents also maintain their stance that the policy to expand medical school quotas must be withdrawn. Park Dan, Chair of the Emergency Committee of the Korean Intern and Resident Association (KIRA), and Lee Hye-ju, former Policy Director, attended an event hosted by the Young Doctors Network (JDN) under the World Medical Association (WMA) on the 17th and criticized the government’s medical reform policy.

Lee, a third-year thoracic surgery resident who resigned, said, "The government’s policy to expand medical school quotas and reform the payment system will not solve the fundamental causes and may worsen the situation," adding, "Simply increasing the number of doctors cannot solve the problem."

She continued, "The government ignored our demands for fundamental improvements for years and simply proposed a policy to increase medical school quotas," adding, "Doctors cannot strike, but we submitted resignation letters."

Ryu Ok-ha, former representative of interns at the Catholic Central Medical Center, held a press conference on the morning of the 16th at the Centerpoint Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, titled 'What Are Resigned Residents Thinking? Presentation of Qualitative Survey Results of Written and Face-to-Face Interviews with 150 Residents,' urging the withdrawal of the medical school quota expansion policy.

He said, "Resigned residents left the 'hospital' due to harsh training environments and unfair government policies, not to leave the 'patients' side," adding, "The government should reconsider the expansion of medical school quotas from the starting point so that our medical system and the relationship between patients and doctors do not become irreparable."