Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk, "If the medical crisis is not resolved early, local healthcare will be devastated"

Statement Released via Facebook
Discussion on Next Year's Medical Student Quota Should Start from Scratch

Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, said on the 14th, "We must quickly resolve the medical crisis to prevent the collapse of local healthcare."

Through Facebook on the same day, Governor Lee stated, "Since there is no sign of resolution to the medical situation, Gyeongbuk Province held a meeting with local medical school presidents and the president of the Gyeongbuk Medical Association. Under the current circumstances, discussing next year's increase in medical student quotas is impossible with the cooperation of students and residents," adding, "We have no choice but to accept this year's increase of 1,507 students since they have already been recruited, and regarding next year's quota increase, it is preferable to discuss and decide from scratch with the government, the Medical Association, and representatives of residents and students."

Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk

Governor Lee continued, "From Gyeongbuk Province's perspective, due to the absolute shortage of doctors, increasing the number of medical students selected from the local area is urgently needed. However, if a resolution plan is not established, there is a serious risk that existing doctors will leave local areas for the metropolitan area. Resolving the medical crisis quickly is more urgent than the issue of increasing quotas," he revealed.

He also said, "This year, the recruitment of public health doctors is expected to be only about 30% of the usual level, and the outflow of existing doctors has already been detected. It is expected to become even more severe from now on," urging, "The government should promptly resolve the medical crisis to solve this national challenge and especially to prevent gaps in local healthcare."