Medical Community "Welcomes Establishment of Medical Workforce Estimation Body... Not a Solution"

Welcoming the Presidential Office's Plan to Establish a 'Medical Workforce Supply and Demand Estimation Body'
Immediate Resolution Needed for Next Year's Admission Quota Issues

The medical community welcomed the presidential office's plan to establish a 'Medical Workforce Supply and Demand Estimation Organization' for discussions on increasing medical school admissions but stated that it cannot serve as a solution to the current conflict between the government and medical professionals.

According to Yonhap News on the 29th, a representative from the Korean Medical Association (KMA) said, "We agree with the discussions through the Medical Workforce Supply and Demand Estimation Organization and will actively participate," but added, "However, the current harmful policies that are collapsing the medical system must be stopped first before any further discussions can take place."

The KMA maintained the position that the issue of the medical school admission quota increasing by 1,509 students next year must be resolved immediately for the medical community to participate in the Medical Workforce Supply and Demand Estimation Organization.

The representative added, "Due to the sudden increase in medical school admissions, medical education will not be possible next year, and medical system collapse will begin immediately from next year," and said, "We should discuss how to recover first, rather than debating the admission quota after the entire system has been destroyed."

A patient is being transported to a university hospital in Seoul amid ongoing emergency room chaos caused by medical service gaps.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Medical school professors also expressed support for the government's establishment of the Medical Workforce Supply and Demand Estimation Organization.

A representative from the National Association of Medical School Professors (Jeonui Gyohyeop), a group of medical school professors, said, "It seems that many of the medical community's requests have been accepted, and the plan to have more than half of the members recommended by the medical community is a good thing," adding, "It is natural for the medical community to participate." However, the representative predicted, "It does not seem likely to have a significant impact on resolving the current (government-medical) conflict."

He said, "The Medical Workforce Supply and Demand Estimation Organization is not a body for political compromise but one that works to decide and create policies," and added, "Even if the estimation organization is established, issues such as the (non-return) of residents or medical students will not be resolved."

Meanwhile, the presidential office views that through the formation of this supply and demand estimation organization, issues such as the number of doctors requested by the medical community can be discussed. The Medical Workforce Supply and Demand Estimation Organization will be composed of subcommittees for nurses, doctors, dentists, and Korean medicine doctors, with 10 to 15 experts participating in each subcommittee. The government plans to grant the majority of expert recommendation rights for each subcommittee to professional private organizations in each field, such as medical associations.