Proposal for Bipartisan Legislative Council... Medical Community Says "President's Apology First"

Seoul and Gyeonggi Medical Associations Issue Statements
"If There Is Sincerity, Medical School Expansion Must Be Immediately Halted"

As the government and the ruling party proposed forming a 'bipartisan parliamentary consultative body' to discuss medical reform issues including the expansion of medical school quotas, the medical community raised their voices, saying, "If the proposal is sincere, the president must apologize first."

President Yoon Suk-yeol is speaking at the expanded Korea-Japan summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held on the 6th at the Yongsan Presidential Office in Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

According to the medical community on the 7th, the Gyeonggi-do Medical Association issued a statement regarding the proposal for the bipartisan parliamentary consultative body, asserting, "If there is even minimal sincerity in dialogue with the medical community, President Yoon Seok-yeol must apologize, and Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong, Vice Minister Park Min-su, and Senior Secretary for Social Affairs Jang Sang-yoon, who have repeatedly made offensive remarks and blunders, must be immediately dismissed."

The presidential office urged the medical community to participate in the bipartisan parliamentary consultative body the day before, and the ruling party expressed a willingness to openly discuss medical reform issues, including the expansion of medical school quotas for the 2026 academic year.

The Gyeonggi-do Medical Association emphasized, "The proposal for the bipartisan parliamentary consultative body is a cunning argument that distorts the essence of the current crisis, which is the forced expansion of medical school quotas in 2025 that must be stopped," adding, "If there is sincerity, the immediate halt of the quota expansion that has caused the collapse of medical care must precede."

They further criticized, saying, "In the current reality where collective failure of medical students has become a reality, educating about 7,500 new medical school students next year is practically impossible," and added, "(The expansion of medical school quotas) is nothing but the stubbornness and obstinacy of a 'non-communicative' president."

They continued, "The dismissal of the responsible officials?Minister Cho, Vice Minister Park, and Senior Secretary Jang?who caused the collapse of medical education, and the president’s apology are fundamental to restoring trust for mutual dialogue," and added, "Asking to have a dialogue while leaving them in place is to mock the medical community and the public once again."

The Seoul Medical Association also issued a statement on the same day, arguing, "For the medical community to participate in the consultative body, the ruling and opposition parties must first reach an agreement, and responsible changes in the government must precede."

They demanded, "Above all, a consultative body without a review of the 2025 admission quota is meaningless," and insisted, "The Ministry of Health and Welfare must apologize for violating the September 4, 2020, parliamentary agreement, which stated that 'unilateral policy implementation such as notifying medical school quotas will not be forced.'"