Medical School Craze Sweeps In, but 7,625 Students Overlapping Classes... Concerns Over Education Quality [Urgent Review of Medical Policy Conflicts] (Part 1)

Private University Medical School Education Investment
Surplus Funds from Affiliated Hospitals as Source
Visible Support Needed
Concerns Over Proliferation of Substandard Medical Schools
Quality Must Match Expansion

Editor's NoteThe conflict between the medical community and the government has entered its fourth month, with medical students, residents, and now professors joining collective strikes, prolonging the extreme standoff. The Korean Medical Association (KMA) is taking a hardline stance demanding a complete reconsideration of the medical school quota increase, while politicians are fiercely criticizing doctors as a ‘vested elite group practicing professional selfishness.’ Public concern over a medical disaster is growing. In this context, at the point when the 1,500 medical school quota increase for 2025 has been confirmed, this article urgently examines the remaining critical issues of medical reform. As the medical-government conflict approaches a crisis, we analyze the essence, core, and immediate issues of medical reform that have been overshadowed, and organize priorities and future alternatives.

Although the 1,500 increase in medical school quotas next year has sparked a ‘medical school syndrome’ among exam candidates, the medical community is seriously concerned about the chaos in training and practical education and the decline in education quality. This is because if the 3,058 medical students of the 2024 cohort, who staged class refusal protests this year, are collectively held back, they will overlap with the 4,567 students of the expanded 2025 cohort, resulting in a worst-case scenario where up to 7,625 students must attend classes simultaneously.

Although the government has promised to increase the number of medical school professors by 1,000 at key national universities, most private medical schools, except for about ten national universities, require additional educational personnel and investment. Yoon Seok-jun, Dean of the Graduate School of Public Health at Korea University, told this publication, “Private universities’ medical education funding comes not from tuition but from surplus funds generated by affiliated hospital revenues,” adding, “Starting next year, when collective retention or quota increase becomes a reality, educational problems will arise, so visible measures are needed for medium- to long-term improvement.”

Private Medical School Education Investment Comes from Affiliated Hospital Surplus Funds...Visible Support Needed

Moreover, the gap caused by the retention of the 2024 medical students will disrupt the supply of new residents in 2030, and the suspension of specialist certification due to resident shortages could lead to a chain reaction of medical service gaps. A university hospital professor mentioned, “I have heard that some hospitals highly dependent on residents have already created overdraft accounts. Financial deterioration could lower the quality of education at affiliated universities.”

This assumption is based on the realistic view that medical students who took leaves of absence this year and residents who resigned are unlikely to return within the year. A physician at a general hospital said, “Many local medical students are planning to drop out halfway, and some residents are preparing for the US medical licensing exam or considering changing specialties. The likelihood of their return is slim.”

Concerns Over Proliferation of Substandard Medical Schools Failing to Pass KIMEE...Need for Quality Assurance Despite Increased Numbers

On the afternoon of August 10, 2017, students from Seonam University held a rally at the back gate of the Seoul Government Complex, demanding the normalization of Seonam University (Source=Yonhap News).

There is also pessimism that ‘substandard’ medical schools may emerge due to the quota increase. Regardless of student numbers, if educational environment conditions are not established, medical school accreditation can be revoked.

The Korea Institute of Medical Education and Evaluation (KIMEE) assesses whether each medical school is properly conducting education based on accreditation standards (92 basic criteria and 51 excellence criteria). Evaluation items include basic educational facilities such as classrooms and practice rooms, educational support facilities for clinical practice and small group learning, educational programs, and student welfare. Depending on the results, the accreditation period (2, 4, or 6 years) or status (accredited or not) of each medical school may change. Failure to pass KIMEE’s review results in loss of medical school status.

A representative case is the closure of Seonam Medical School in 2018 after failing KIMEE accreditation. Seonam Medical School did not meet KIMEE standards due to inadequate affiliated hospitals, substandard faculty, and insufficient curriculum. This unprecedented situation forced Seonam students to transfer to Jeonbuk National University and Wonkwang University.

Professor Park Eun-cheol of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Yonsei University Medical School said in an interview, “There should be no medical schools among the increased quotas that cause quality issues,” adding, “Closure like Seonam Medical School should be a last resort, and as an intermediate step, adjusting medical school quotas flexibly based on evaluation scores could be an alternative.” Such flexible adjustment of medical school quotas is fundamentally decided by the Ministry of Education after consulting the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Cross-ministerial cooperation is necessary to manage the quality of medical education.

Series Outline

<上>The Medical School Frenzy, but 7,625 Students Overlapping in Classes...Concerns Over Education Quality
<中>The Increase Is Irreversible; Key Issues Are Fee Increases and Strengthening the Medical Accident Special Act
<下>Unlike 2000, 2014, and 2020, the 18-Day General Strike...The Medical Community Must Engage in Dialogue with the Public