Korean Medical Association Expresses Regret Over Unilateral Medical School Quota Increase Based on Inadequate Projections

"We Will Correct the Push for Unreasonable Policies"

The Korean Medical Association announced on January 22 that it will thoroughly verify and correct the discussion on medical school quotas by the Health and Medical Policy Deliberation Committee (HMPDC) of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, stating, "We will ensure that unreasonable policies based on inadequate projections are not pushed forward."

Sungkeun Kim, Spokesperson for the Korean Medical Association. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Sungkeun Kim, spokesperson for the Korean Medical Association, emphasized this point during a regular briefing held at the association's headquarters in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the same day. He said, "At the recent HMPDC meeting, the association expressed strong regret and opposition to the government's unilateral discussion on increasing medical school quotas."

He also criticized the ARIMA (time series analysis model) projection model adopted by the Medical Workforce Supply and Demand Estimation Committee, calling it "an outdated method that relies solely on past trends." He argued, "If we take into account changes in the future medical environment, such as telemedicine and integrated care, the number of required doctors could actually decrease."

Regarding the educational environment for medical students, he stated, "The Ministry of Education reported, based on written and on-site surveys, that the educational conditions at medical schools are adequate. However, this was merely a formal procedure, and in reality, 67.5% of medical schools nationwide face a shortage of lecture rooms." He added, "Furthermore, any discussion that excludes both medical students-the future leaders of healthcare-and the president of the Korean Institute of Medical Education and Evaluation, who assesses the quality of medical education, is invalid."