Medical Community: "To Ensure Resident Return, Suspension of Increase Needed... Discussions Should Start from 2027 Quota"

"The Only Way to Resolve the Crisis Is the Return of Residents"
"If Medical Students on Leave Return, Normal Education Will Be Impossible"

The Korean Medical Association (KMA) reiterated the necessity to cancel the increase in medical school admissions, stating that the return of residents is the only solution to the crisis.

A poster opposing the increase in medical school admissions is posted at the main entrance of the Korean Medical Association building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.
Photo by Taewon Choi peaceful1@

On the 9th, the KMA issued a public appeal stating, "The crisis in the medical field is worsening," and added, "Chuseok is not the end, and this is not just an emergency room issue. After residents left the hospitals, university hospitals have reached their limits in providing care, and the remaining medical staff are growing exhausted day by day."

They continued, "The only way to resolve the crisis is the return of the residents," and said, "They (the residents) left with seven demands, the first of which is the complete cancellation of the increase in medical school admissions and the essential medical policy package. Without the cancellation of the increase in medical school admissions including in 2025, the residents will not return."

The KMA also proposed canceling the increase in medical school admissions and starting discussions on the medical school quota from 2027. The association stated, "We propose canceling all increases including those in 2025 and fairly discussing the medical school quota from 2027 using a transparent and scientific projection method that both parties can agree on," and added, "We request the abolition of all policies that clearly harm the public, such as the essential medical policy package, and ask for sincere dialogue to normalize healthcare."

They also emphasized that the government should "disclose the results of the medical-government agreements promised multiple times in the past to the public and commit to fulfilling any unimplemented items."

The KMA argued, "Even if we concede to the government’s position, the difference in the number of doctors seven years later when the increases in 2025 and 2026 are not implemented is only about 2% compared to when the increases are implemented," and stated, "The social cost of delaying the increase in medical school admissions by two years is very small. Increasing medical school admissions is not an urgent issue that would cause a crisis in the medical field at the expense of public health."

They added, "The government talks about confusion among examinees, but we believe that examinees and their parents will understand the cancellation of the increase to protect the lives and health of the public."

The KMA also mentioned the education issues for the increased number of medical students. They said, "If the increase is forced this year, medical education at medical schools and training hospitals will not be able to proceed normally for several years starting next year," and added, "If medical students currently on leave return, normal education will be impossible. We cannot guarantee that new students entering next year will not join the leave."

The medical school faculty group counter-proposed to the government, which requested a reasonable plan from the medical community, by asking them to "present a reasonable single plan."

The Emergency Response Committee of Seoul National University College of Medicine and Seoul National University Hospital professors issued a statement on the same day, saying, "Many medical school professors have advocated for a rational determination of medical school quotas based on scientific evidence, but the government has consistently ignored the opinions presented by the medical community," and argued, "The government should present a scientific analysis-based projection of medical personnel demand to avoid further controversy."

They continued, "The essence of the issue is not the increase in medical school admissions but the collapse of trust represented by the unilateral cancellation of the 2020 medical-government agreement," and emphasized, "If the government decided on the increase in medical school admissions based on scientific supply and demand analysis at the minimum necessary scale, it should disclose the basis for that decision."

Regarding the government’s medical measures ahead of the Chuseok holiday, the Emergency Response Committee demanded, "First, relieve emergency medical staff from the burden of civil and criminal lawsuits that hold them responsible for final treatment," and added, "Guarantee the appropriate employment of essential medical specialists at tertiary hospitals to strengthen backup care, and establish a system where emergency medical technicians can verify in real-time the capacity of medical institutions to accept emergency patients on site."