"Need to Find a Way to Receive Proper Education and Take Medical Licensing Exam After Graduation"
Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party and a former doctor, proposed the formation of a bipartisan parliamentary consultative body to discuss next year's medical school quota issue.
Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, is delivering a greeting at the National Doctors' Representatives Conference held at the Korean Medical Association Hall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 22nd. Photo by Yonhap News.
On the 22nd, Ahn stated at the National Doctors' Representatives Meeting hosted by the Korean Medical Association (KMA) Emergency Committee, held in the basement first-floor auditorium of the KMA building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, "The government, ruling and opposition parties, and the medical community should form an emergency consultative body to discuss the issue of increasing medical school quotas starting in 2025."
He continued, "From next year, we need to find a way for students to receive proper medical education and qualify to take the medical licensing exam after graduation," adding, "We must find and agree on possible emergency measures, such as not transferring unregistered students from early admissions to regular admissions, so that residents and medical students can find a way to return."
Furthermore, Ahn said, "Earlier this year, I secretly arranged meetings between medical officials and senior presidential officials," and questioned, "However, a senior official from the Presidential Office said that the number 2,000 (the scale of medical school quota increase) was not something I could touch. Then who could it be?"
He also argued, "We need to reestablish a bipartisan parliamentary consultative body for mid- to long-term medical reform," emphasizing, "We must put our heads together on mid- to long-term plans to strengthen regional and essential medical care, train physician-scientists, and determine a reasonable scale for medical school quota increases."
He also demanded an apology from the government regarding the proclamation to punish medical personnel, including residents, who have not returned. He said, "Such chilling wording shows that President Yoon's medical policy was distorted from the start by prejudice and hatred," and added, "The acting president should apologize for the proclamation to punish residents."
He continued, "The unconstitutional and illegal proclamation caused not only residents and the medical community but also the public to feel insulted," and stated, "An official apology from the government is necessary to resume dialogue with the medical community."
Ahn evaluated the medical reforms led by President Yoon, including medical school quota increases and improvements in regional and essential medical care, as failures. He said, "The Yoon Seok-youl administration's medical reform has failed miserably," adding, "Emergency room rotations, essential medical care, and regional medical care have all collapsed to an irreparable state, and the production of new doctors and specialists next year has been halted."
He continued, "The supply of interns, public health doctors, and military doctors has also stopped," and assessed, "Although several trillion won of national budget was advanced, it seems difficult to prevent the collapse of the medical system, let alone achieve medical reform."
He urged, "If the medical system collapses due to missed timing, it will take decades to restore it, so the acting president and ruling and opposition parties must urgently take action with a desperate resolve to manage the situation immediately."
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