Bae Jang-hwan, Chairman of the Chungbuk National University Hospital Emergency Committee, Criticizes Realism
"Only 2.4 Trillion Won Investment Needed for Our Hospital"
Medical school professors criticized the basis of the policy to increase medical school admissions as insufficient. They argued that if the number of medical students is increased, hospital facilities must also be expanded significantly, requiring trillions of won in funding.
On the 4th, Bae Jang-hwan, Emergency Response Committee Chair of Chungbuk National University Hospital and College of Medicine, made these claims at a seminar held by the National Association of Medical School Professors (Jeon-ui-gyo-hyeop) in the main auditorium of Seoul National University College of Medicine.
The number of students at Chungbuk National University College of Medicine increased fourfold from 49 to 200, and the hospital must also be expanded fourfold to accommodate this. This pointed out the government's policy as unrealistic.
Chairman Bae stated, "Considering the characteristics of medical education, which involves small-scale learning and practice, and the current facilities, it is necessary to spend a total of 12 billion won to completely renovate a four-story building, and the hospital must also be expanded fourfold based on the number of beds and faculty," adding, "They simply say it will cost 2.4 trillion won," criticizing the policy.
Participants at the seminar unanimously called for a fundamental reconsideration of the medical school admission increase policy. In his congratulatory speech, Lim Hyun-taek, President of the Korean Medical Association, said, "Increasing medical school admissions by 2,000 students can never be a fundamental solution to essential and regional healthcare," and added, "The government's essential medical care policy package also fails to properly reflect the realities of medical and educational fields, so both the expansion of admissions and the policy package should be scrapped."
Kim Chang-su, former president of Jeon-ui-gyo-hyeop, also criticized the government and urged the policy's abolition through a statement issued after the seminar. Jeon-ui-gyo-hyeop claimed, "The Ministry of Education and the Korean Council for University Education ignored the court's decision and disclosed the status of medical school admissions without submitting any data," arguing, "This amounts to admitting that the increase and distribution of 2,000 students were the result of secret collusion."
Earlier, on the 2nd, the medical community filed a request for suspension of the enforcement of the medical school admission increase at the Seoul High Court. The court ordered the government to submit scientific evidence supporting the calculation of the 2,000-student increase, investigation data including on-site inspections, and meeting minutes related to the distribution by university by the 10th. The court also requested that all procedures be halted until it decides whether to accept these materials.
Jeon-ui-gyo-hyeop plans to analyze the government's supporting data by gathering 30 to 50 domestic and international experts in collaboration with the Korean Medical Association and others to verify the validity of the physician number projection model, budget, and investment feasibility, and then make the findings public.
Regarding the 'nationwide strike on May 10' and the 'one-week collective strike if the increase is confirmed' policies of the National Emergency Response Committee of Medical School Professors (Jeon-ui-bi), a separate organization from Jeon-ui-gyo-hyeop, Chairman Kim said, "Decisions on strikes should be made by each university's emergency committee or faculty council," but added, "Everyone agrees to maintain emergency and critical care and surgeries as much as possible during the strike."
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