To Students: "Actively Exercise Your Right to Study"
Urging the Medical Community to Join the Special Committee... "Present Effective Alternatives"
The government has announced a firm stance to take strong action against acts that induce medical school freshmen not to register for courses or force them to take a leave of absence.
Park Min-su, Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, is attending and speaking at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on doctors' collective action held on the 6th at the Situation Room of the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. 2025.3.6 Photo by Jo Yong-jun
On the 6th, Park Min-su, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, held a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters for the doctors' collective action and stated, "The new semester has started, but many medical students have not yet returned to school. It is the students' duty to participate in classes and continue their studies," adding, "If there are attempts to interfere with classes, such as urging students not to register for courses or to take a leave of absence, we will respond strictly according to laws and principles."
Vice Minister Park also urged the students, "I hope you will actively exercise your right to study by recalling the original intention of becoming doctors who treat sick patients," and said, "The government will continuously communicate and provide sufficient support to ensure that medical education proceeds normally."
He urged the medical community to participate in the Presidential Commission on Medical Reform. Vice Minister Park said, "Completing medical reform cannot be achieved by the government's efforts alone," and added, "Medical associations that are not participating in the Medical Reform Commission should join the discussions on medical reform as partners, including the commission, and confidently express their opinions."
He continued, "It is unreasonable to demand unconditional cancellation and suspension (such as increasing medical school quotas) without participating in discussions or presenting specific details," and urged, "As medical professionals, please present concrete and effective alternatives that are essential on the ground."
At the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting that day, solutions to medical disputes and the establishment of a medical workforce supply and demand estimation committee were also discussed. Regarding the establishment of a safety net for medical accidents, it was decided to actively support legislation that sufficiently reflects the opinions of patients and the medical community based on previous commission discussions.
Vice Minister Park said, "We will promptly prepare institutional improvement measures that reflect the expertise and specificity of medical accidents to create an environment where both patients and medical personnel can resolve medical disputes based on trust and empathy." He also emphasized support for the medical workforce supply and demand estimation committee, saying, "As soon as the bill passes in the National Assembly, we will prepare the committee's formation and support its prompt operation."
Meanwhile, regarding the agreement reached at the Korean Council of University Presidents the previous day to set the 2026 medical school admission quota at 3,058, the Ministry of Health and Welfare stated, "We sympathize with the intentions of the university presidents for the normalization of medical education," and added, "Considering the purpose of the bill passed by the Health and Welfare Committee's subcommittee in the National Assembly and the position of the medical students involved, we will have sufficient consultations within the government."
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