Ruling and Opposition Parties and Government Council Stalled... Ruling Party Leadership Persuades with 'Medical Site Visits'

Handonghun, Private Visit to Yangsan Pusan National University Hospital
Chukyung-ho, Visits Emergency Room at Seoul Chungang National University Hospital
Ruling Party and Government Reconfirm No Adjustment to Medical School Quotas for 2025 Academic Year

The government and the People Power Party aim to form a bipartisan consultative body before the Chuseok holiday begins, but have yet to launch it due to lukewarm responses from the medical community. Although the 2025 academic year university early admissions have already started, the medical sector has set a precondition demanding a full suspension of the increase in medical school quotas. The ruling party has launched an all-out effort, proposing the bipartisan consultative body, holding individual meetings with medical associations, and visiting medical sites to directly persuade doctors.

On the 11th, Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, and Choo Kyung-ho, floor leader, along with other party leaders, will visit emergency medical sites to carry out persuasion efforts. Han plans to attend a field meeting of the Special Committee on Gap Reduction in Busan in the afternoon and then make a private visit to Yangsan Pusan National University Hospital. This will be Han’s second visit to a tertiary hospital.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Since Han proposed the bipartisan consultative body after visiting the Catholic University Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital with a minimal number of staff on the 2nd, attention is focused on whether a new proposal will emerge following his visit to Pusan National University Hospital. The day before, Han told reporters at the National Assembly that discussions could include adjustments to the 2025 medical school quota increase and calls for the dismissal of responsible officials, stating, "There is no 'no-go' condition as a prerequisite for launching the consultative body."

Choo Kyung-ho, who has been encouraging party members to visit hospitals in their constituencies, will also visit the emergency room of Chung-Ang University Hospital in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, on the same day to listen to difficulties and assess the situation on site. A ruling party official said, "The party leader and floor leader’s direct visits to the field are meant to comfort frontline medical staff and appeal to medical professionals outside the field to return and participate in the consultative body," adding, "The medical community must also sit at the table and start discussions."

However, it remains uncertain whether the medical community will respond positively to the ruling party and government’s overtures, as there is a difference in stance between Han, who insists on "engaging in dialogue without preconditions," and the party’s floor leadership and the presidential office, who maintain that "increasing medical school quotas for the 2025 academic year is impossible." Ahead of the formation of the bipartisan consultative body involving the ruling and opposition parties, the medical community has demanded a suspension of medical school quota increases not only for 2026 but also for 2025. The presidential office, along with Floor Leader Choo and People Power Party Policy Committee Chair Kim Sang-hoon, reaffirmed their existing position that "2025 is practically difficult because admissions are already underway." Although some in the medical community suggest that opening the possibility of adjusting quota sizes regardless of the year would encourage dialogue, accepting the medical community’s demands is impossible as changes to the recruitment schedule or numbers at this stage, with 2025 early admissions already in progress, could cause significant confusion among examinees.

A senior official from the presidential office also responded to opposition parties’ demands for the dismissal of the Minister and Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, stating, "Personnel authority is the president’s exclusive prerogative," and adding, "Replacing the minister and vice minister is out of the question while medical reform is underway." The official further noted, "Regarding the 2026 medical school quota size, if the medical community finds it difficult to present a unified proposal, adjustments can only be made if they can offer the most concrete and reasonable plan possible."