Statement Released After Meeting on the 20th
"Not a Fundamental Solution"
The Korean Medical Association announced that it rejects the government’s plan to allow medical schools to autonomously select increased medical student quotas by 50-100% only for the 2025 academic year.
After a meeting on the 20th, the Association’s Emergency Response Committee issued a statement saying, "We acknowledge that the government’s announcement is the result of considerable deliberation to resolve the current situation," but added, "However, since it is not a fundamental solution, the Emergency Response Committee cannot accept it."
Regarding the Presidential Commission on Medical Reform, which will hold its first meeting next week, the committee stated, "We understand that the commission’s composition and role have not been properly defined," and expressed their intention not to participate, saying, "If it becomes a committee where opinions are not properly reflected, participating would be meaningless."
The Emergency Response Committee also emphasized, "This commission cannot physically resolve the current situation, so discussions should take place in a different type of organization," and added, "We have consistently stated that committees such as the Physician Number Estimation Committee should operate separately on a one-on-one basis with the medical community."
The Medical Reform Commission is composed of a private-sector chairperson, government representatives from six ministries, and 20 private-sector members. Among the private members, 10 are recommended by provider organizations including medical associations, 5 by consumer organizations, and 5 are experts from various fields.
The Emergency Response Committee reiterated its call to President Yoon Seok-yeol and the government for a "reconsideration from the starting point" regarding the increase in medical school quotas. The committee stated, "The government has raised the banner of medical reform, and cooperation from the medical community is natural, but pushing forward in the current manner will not achieve medical reform," and requested, "As the highest official responsible for the health of the people, we ask the President to make a magnanimous decision to reconsider the issue from the beginning."
Kim Seong-geun, the Emergency Response Committee’s spokesperson, said in a briefing after the meeting, "Medical school professors who have submitted their resignations are expected to have their resignations accepted as early as the 25th of this month, and many professors have a firm stance to resign on that day regardless of acceptance," adding, "Medical schools will not be able to operate academic schedules normally from May, and it has been confirmed that some medical schools have sent letters stating that they will have no choice but to hold students back."
He continued, "Professors at hospitals affiliated with medical schools are reaching near exhaustion, and those who take many shifts are caring for intensive care patients three days a week and say they will not be able to endure until May," and added, "Therefore, we conveyed that there is little time left, and we hope the issue will be resolved by then."
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