Doctors holding candles... Im Hyuntaek "Why be disappointed in advance expecting a declaration"

KMA May Declare General Strike... Nationwide Candlelight Vigils Against Staff Increase
KMA Official Says "Baseless"
Participation of Private Practitioners and Professors Uncertain... Impact Expected to Be Limited

Next year's medical school admission quota has been confirmed at 4,695, an increase of 1,540 from this year, while the Korean Medical Association (KMA) plans to hold candlelight vigils at six locations nationwide, including Seoul, on the 30th to criticize the government's forced expansion of medical schools. There is growing attention as a KMA-level general strike plan may be announced.

Participants of the nationwide doctors' general strike rally held on the afternoon of March 3 near Yeouidaero beside Yeouido Park in Seoul, to oppose the increase in medical school quotas and the essential medical package
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Yonhap News reported that the KMA will hold a candlelight vigil in front of Daehanmun at Deoksugung Palace in Seoul under the name "Republic of Korea Government Korean Medical Death Sentence" that evening. The event will also take place in Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, Jeonju, and Daejeon.

Earlier, a medical media outlet reported, "The KMA decided in an internal meeting on the 29th to declare a general strike at the candlelight vigil on the 30th." The KMA's position has not been confirmed precisely yet. A KMA official told Yonhap News, "Nothing has been decided. We don't know if President Im will declare it today or not. There was no mention of a general strike in the executive official meeting," and another official said, "It is groundless."

However, KMA President Im Hyun-taek posted on his Facebook the day before, "Do you already know what the KMA will declare at the rally and are you disappointed in advance?" and added, "Everyone, get your act together and follow in a disciplined manner. I will be at the very front."

Previously, the KMA, under the emergency response committee system in February, had set a policy to "decide the final action through a vote."

Some expect that since the KMA is mainly operated by private practitioners, the participation rate in the strike will be low, limiting confusion. In fact, when the KMA staged a collective sickout in 2020 against the government's push to expand medical schools, the participation rate was below 10%.

Also, the participation of medical school professors in the strike is uncertain. The National Medical School Professors Emergency Committee (Jeon-ui-bi) withdrew its ‘one-week collective sickout’ plan as the medical school expansion process for next year entered its final stages, stating, "It is obvious that the government will not budge."

However, concerns remain that if an actual general strike is carried out, confusion in the medical field could increase. A Ministry of Health and Welfare official said, "We are closely monitoring the situation of the medical community's candlelight vigil," and added, "Since a general strike declaration is anticipated, we will observe the situation and prepare countermeasures."

Meanwhile, on the 30th, the Ministry of Education and the Korea Council for University Education (KCUE) announced the '2025 College Admission Plan,' confirming the medical school freshman quota for 2025 at 4,695, an increase of 1,540 from this year. This is the first increase in medical school quotas in 27 years.