[Inside Chodong] Government and Medical Community: Now Is the Time for Negotiation

One year ago today, President Yoon Seok-yeol's approval rating recovered to the 40% range for the first time in eight months. It was a time when interpretations emerged that the approval rating rose as he scored some points in the 'war' with the resigning medical residents, who even appeared in the emergency martial law proclamation.

One year later, the president, who vowed to achieve reforms without being obsessed with popularity, has driven himself into an impeachment crisis. When the president was absent, the government apologized to the medical community with "a sorry and regretful heart" and appealed for dialogue. This means that the Yoon administration's policy to increase medical school quotas has lost not only practical benefits but also justification.

Meanwhile, there are talks that the government plans to study a 'customized educational support plan for each medical school' to prepare for changes in the educational environment due to an increase in the number of students, including returning students on leave. With less than a week left before the semester starts, the plan is to establish an educational innovation model for the next six months up to 2030.

It is hard not to say this is leisurely. The government’s plan also includes goals to analyze the environments of 40 medical schools and find cases of educational innovation. Given that the medical community still demands 'zero' increase in quotas and universities are even cautious about the political variable of impeachment trials, it is questionable whether it is appropriate to spend taxpayers' money on such research.

The medical community is now facing another 'crisis' at the doorstep. The total medical school quota for next year must be decided, but the period when each university submits the quota size to the Ministry of Education and finalizes admission guidelines is concentrated in March and April, leaving very little time. If the new semester starts as is, a class disruption is inevitable.

If medical students do not return to school in March and even the new students refuse classes this year, next year will see a situation where three entire grades attend classes simultaneously. Universities will have to revise their plans for hiring professors and securing facilities and equipment, which were prepared based on the 2,000-student increase.

The essential medical system, which is barely holding on, is also on the brink of collapse. An analysis showed that more than 3,000 patients have died over six months since February last year due to not receiving timely treatment amid medical-government conflicts. This is despite pouring over 3.3 trillion won in taxes, including local government funds, to fill the medical gap.

There is little time left for the government and the medical community. If the current situation continues for just one more month, the medical-government conflict will enter round two. The damage from the impending medical collapse and educational chaos will be unimaginable.

The government's proposal to open the way for each university to decide next year's medical school quota is not a universal key. However, it could be a starting point for the government and the medical community to present realistic solutions and find a compromise.

With the medical school quota issue stalled for two years, it is only natural for the medical community not to insist solely on 'cancelling the quota increase' but to engage in dialogue and propose reasonable adjustments. The government has shown its intention to freeze next year's medical school quota at the pre-increase level, and even included in the supplementary provisions of the related law amendment that university presidents must consult medical school deans when deciding next year's quota.

Now is the time for compromise, not conflict. Since this is an effort to normalize essential medical care and revive regional healthcare, the government and the medical community must sit down at the negotiation table even now. Both the government, which pushed forward for a year, and the medical community, which did not yield an inch, must start by rebuilding the broken trust. The public has already suffered too much pain. Please ensure that the reforms pushed forward do not end with absurd outcomes such as repeat exam takers and increased private education expenses.