KMA: "Pressuring Medical Students to Return Is Not a Solution... Government Proposal Is Wordplay"

"It Is Necessary to Resolve the Issue with a Flexible Approach"

The Korean Medical Association (KMA) demanded the government adopt a flexible stance on the 14th, stating that pressuring medical students by setting a return deadline is not a solution.

Kim Seong-geun, spokesperson for the Korea Medical Association, is briefing on current issues such as medical school quotas and the Special Committee on Medical Reform at the KMA building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on the 14th. Photo by Yonhap News

Kim Seong-geun, spokesperson for the KMA, said at a regular briefing held at the KMA headquarters in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the 14th, "Setting a fixed return date can sound uncomfortable and threatening to the medical students involved."

He added, "Pressure is not the solution, as we have experienced over the past year. There is a need to resolve the issue with a softer and more flexible approach."

He continued, "We are not imagining a situation where students triple in number next year because medical students do not return this year," and requested, "Please provide clear answers on what the government must do to resolve the issue before that happens."

Earlier, on the 7th, the government accepted a plan to revert the number of medical school admissions for the 2026 academic year to the previous scale of 3,058 students, setting the condition that all medical students must return by the end of this month.

The KMA also raised criticism of this proposal. Spokesperson Kim said, "The government claimed it would set the admission number at 3,058 based on the university president's recommendation, but insisted the quota is 5,058 and said reverting to 3,058 is conditional. The public is confused by the government's wordplay."

He added, "Since his inauguration in January, KMA President Kim Taek-woo has never mentioned the number of medical school admissions and has demanded solutions to the problem of 7,500 students from the classes of 2024 and 2025 needing to be educated simultaneously," emphasizing again, "Only if this can be guaranteed can we discuss the 2026 admission numbers."

He concluded, "Students want to study, and residents want to train. Please specify what the government can concretely do."