Ministry of Health and Welfare Submits Revised Bill on Medical Workforce Estimation Committee to National Assembly
Government proposes allowing universities to set their own medical school quotas for next year
Revised bill includes addendum for 2026 medical school admissions
Minister Cho Kyu-hong: "Legalization of the committee is not a cure-all, but a step forward"
Amid stalled discussions on the establishment of a medical workforce supply and demand estimation body to finalize next year's medical school quotas, the government is pushing for a plan that allows each university to decide its own medical school quota for the coming year.
Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong is responding to questions from lawmakers at the Health and Welfare Committee plenary meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 18th. Photo by Yonhap News
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Assembly on the 18th, the Ministry submitted a revised bill to the National Assembly the day before regarding six bills proposed by ruling and opposition lawmakers to establish the Health and Medical Workforce Supply and Demand Estimation Committee (Estimation Committee) (amendments to the Health and Medical Workforce Support Act or the Framework Act on Health and Medical Services).
The government's revision is a compromise and supplement based on opinions presented at the public hearing held on the 14th for the legalization of the Health and Medical Workforce Estimation Committee.
This includes an addendum related to next year's medical school quotas. Specifically, it states that "if the Minister of Health and Welfare finds it difficult to decide the scale of physician workforce training for the 2026 academic year after deliberation by the Estimation Committee and the Health and Medical Policy Deliberation Committee (Policy Deliberation Committee), the head of each university may change the number of medical school admissions in the university's admission plan by April 30, 2025, considering the educational conditions of each university." In this case, a proviso is attached that "the head of the university must consult in advance with the Minister of Education."
Considering the tight deadline for deciding the 2026 academic year's medical school quotas, even if the bill to establish the Estimation Committee passes the National Assembly, it is interpreted as a realistic acknowledgment that decisions through the Estimation Committee will be difficult.
The revision also added provisions requiring the preparation and disclosure of minutes of the Estimation Committee meetings in accordance with the Public Records Management Act. However, it is known that discussions on the revision bill in the National Assembly have not yet taken place.
Cho Kyu-hong, Minister of Health and Welfare, appeared at the full meeting of the Health and Welfare Committee on the same day and, in response to questions about the Estimation Committee, said, "I do not think that everything will be resolved simply by legalizing the committee, but it will be a clue to solving the issue," adding, "If legalization happens quickly, I believe it can also be reflected in deciding the medical school quotas for the 2026 academic year."
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