3,000 Medical Professors Submit Petition Demanding Withdrawal of Medical School Expansion Policy

About 3,000 medical school professors submitted a petition to the court, urging the government to halt its policy of expanding medical school quotas.

The Korea Association of Medical School Professors (KAMSP), a nationwide organization representing professors from 40 medical schools, announced on the 9th that it had submitted the petition to the Administrative Division 7 of the Seoul High Court.

KAMSP stated, "The reckless increase in medical school quotas will lead to the downfall of South Korea's medical community, which has been recognized as a medical advanced country both domestically and internationally, and the burden and adverse effects will fall entirely on the people." They added, "We have submitted this petition appealing for the High Court to grant a suspension of the enforcement of the quota increase decision as a last hope."

In the petition, KAMSP pointed out that the government's process of increasing medical school quotas violated the Higher Education Act and was hastily pushed forward without on-site investigations.

They also stated that the government claimed there were no minutes from the Health and Medical Policy Deliberation Committee (HMPDC) and its subordinate Medical Workforce Expert Committee meetings, which they said violated public records management laws.

However, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has stated that it has prepared and stored the minutes of the HMPDC and Medical Workforce Expert Committee meetings and will submit the minutes and related materials to the court by the 10th.

Meanwhile, Lee Byung-chul, the legal representative of KAMSP, announced that on the same day he filed a complaint with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) against Kim Young-hwan, Governor of Chungbuk Province; Choi Seung-hwan, Director of the Health and Welfare Bureau of Chungbuk Provincial Office; Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education; and Oh Seok-hwan, Vice Minister of Education, on charges including obstruction of official duties by deception.

Attorney Lee said, "Although it was inappropriate for Choi Seung-hwan, Director of the Health and Welfare Bureau of Chungbuk Provincial Office, who has a vested interest, to attend the allocation committee under the Ministry of Education, he was allowed to attend the allocation committee held on March 15 at the Korea Educational Facilities Safety Institute with the purpose of increasing the admission quota of Chungbuk National University Medical School from 49 to 200." He added, "This deception obstructed the official duties of the public officials responsible for the allocation committee."

In response, a Chungbuk Province official stated, "We have unified the response channel to the Ministry of Education regarding this matter, and there is no position to express or convey at the Chungbuk provincial level."