[Inside Chodong] Government and Medical Community Must Collaborate to Normalize Medical Education

"The medical school quota for the 2026 academic year will be frozen, and all reductions will be reconsidered from the ground up. I feel sorry for the residents and medical staff who may have been emotionally hurt by the martial law and proclamations, and I extend my condolences."

Cho Kyu-hong, Minister of Health and Welfare, once again apologized for the expansion of 2,000 medical school quotas, which sparked the conflict between the medical community and the government. Previously, Choi Sang-mok, Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, and Lee Ju-ho, Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs and Minister of Education, also consecutively admitted that the policy to increase medical school quotas was wrong and promised to discuss next year's quotas from a zero base. Although the nearly year-long conflict between the medical community and the government cannot be resolved with a single apology, the government's acknowledgment that the policy, which started without sufficient discussion, was wrong and its decision to reverse the expansion plan represent a significant change in stance. The government also expressed its willingness to resolve practical issues by applying special measures to allow resigned residents to return to training sites and postponing military enlistment.

The government's gesture of reconciliation toward the medical community, even amid the impeachment crisis, likely stems from the judgment that medical service gaps can no longer be neglected. There is an urgent need to prevent disruptions in medical education ahead of the new semester starting this March. The medical school quota for the 2025 academic year, which is about to begin admissions, is 4,567 students?1,509 more than last year?and if many students who took leave due to last year's medical-government conflict return, over 7,000 medical students will have to attend first-year classes simultaneously. The government has pledged to invest more than 600 billion won this year to improve medical education conditions, including increasing faculty and expanding facilities and equipment, assuring that classes will proceed smoothly once medical students return. Medical students returning to school and residents resuming training are essential for producing specialists in the next two to three years. With the recent election of a new president of the Korean Medical Association, a dialogue atmosphere with the medical community has been established, making the next month the last chance to normalize the 2025 academic schedule.

With the government making concessions, the key now lies in the hands of the medical community. Some in the medical community have even suggested not admitting new students for the 2026 academic year and instead having the 2024 and 2025 cohorts attend classes distributed over this year and next. However, this approach is controversial as it limits opportunities for other prospective students. The 'Medical Workforce Supply and Demand Estimation Organization' proposed by the government to determine the scale of medical school expansion has yet to be formed. Ultimately, the medical community must also lower some of its unrealistic demands and collaborate on concrete measures to normalize medical education.

The public's fatigue and suffering caused by the medical-government conflict have already reached a peak. Last month, a survey conducted by Professor Yoo Myung-soon’s team at Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Health found that 70% of respondents felt stress or fatigue due to the conflict. While 70% believed that the public's role is important in managing and resolving the conflict, 75% felt that the public and patients are easily marginalized. Whether government or medical community, narrowing differences and proposing constructive solutions is essential; repeating only their own claims makes it difficult to gain public sympathy. The original purpose of medical reform?to revive regional and essential medical services?has long been forgotten amid the ongoing protests, leaves of absence, and mass resignations by residents and medical students over the medical school quota expansion. Throughout the complicated process of resolving the medical-government conflict, the highest priority must be protecting the lives and health of the public.