Will Today Be the Last Meeting of the Ruling and Opposition Parties' Council... Facing Collapse Again After 3 Weeks

Medical Associations and Medical School Council to Make Final Decision on 'Withdrawal' at Today's Meeting
Focus on Next Year's Resident Recruitment and Medical Association President Election Outcomes

The bipartisan medical-government consultative body, launched to resolve conflicts between the government and the medical community, is facing a crisis just three weeks after its inception. As the government and the medical sector remain at odds over key issues such as the medical school quota for the 2025 academic year, and the ruling party has come out in support of establishing new regional medical schools, the medical community is considering withdrawing from the consultative body.

On the afternoon of the 24th of last month, Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, Cho Kyu-hong, Minister of Health and Welfare, Lee Jin-woo, President of the Korean Medical Association, and Lee Jong-tae, Chairman of KAMC, attended the 3rd meeting of the 'Ruling and Opposition Parliamentary Consultative Body' held at the National Assembly, preparing for the meeting. Photo by Yonhap News.

According to the medical community on the 1st, the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences and the Korean Association of Medical Colleges and Medical Schools (KAMC·Medical School Association), both participants in the bipartisan consultative body, plan to attend the 4th plenary meeting scheduled for 2 p.m. that day. However, both organizations are keeping in mind that this meeting could be their last.

Previously, the Academy decided to lean toward withdrawing from the consultative body after an executive meeting on the 29th of last month, and the Medical School Association also discussed whether to continue participation on the same day, ultimately delegating the decision to Chairman Lee Jong-tae, who will attend the meeting.

The reason these two organizations, which initially committed to participating as expert groups to fulfill their responsibilities, are reconsidering their involvement just three weeks after the consultative body's launch is primarily due to the lack of clear progress in discussions so far. While some common ground was found regarding the autonomy guarantee of the Korea Institute of Medical Education and Evaluation in the previous three plenary meetings, opinions on the medical school quota for 2025 and 2026 remained at an impasse between the government and medical representatives.

Above all, the recent strong support from the People Power Party for establishing a national medical school in Gyeongbuk has sparked backlash from the medical community. The Korean Medical Association (KMA) emergency committee publicly called on the Academy and others to withdraw from the consultative body.

Since the consultative body was already effectively 'half-formed' without the opposition party and resident physician groups, the withdrawal of the medical community and the Medical School Association would render its continuation meaningless. If no 'surprise achievement' emerges at this meeting to change their minds, the body, which was scheduled to last until the end of December, could be disbanded before reaching half of its intended duration.

If the barely opened door to dialogue closes, the medical-government conflict triggered by the medical school quota policy will once again be shrouded in uncertainty.

Meanwhile, the announcement of next year's first half resident recruitment and the start of the Korean Medical Association presidential by-election early this month could serve as indicators of the situation's direction. On the 5th, recruitment announcements for residents will be made by each training hospital, and successful candidates may be announced as early as the 19th, but it remains uncertain how many residents will return. The government is also likely to begin seriously considering special training exceptions or military service deferrals in line with resident recruitment.

The KMA, currently operating under an emergency committee system, will accept candidate registrations for the presidential election scheduled for January next year from the 2nd to 3rd. Five candidates have already declared their intention to run: Kang Hee-kyung, professor at Seoul National University College of Medicine and Seoul National University Hospital and emergency committee chair; Kim Taek-woo, chairman of the National Metropolitan City Doctors' Association; Lee Dong-wook, chairman of the Gyeonggi-do Medical Association; Joo Soo-ho, former KMA president; and Choi Anna, KMA spokesperson.