Minister Jeong Eun-kyung: "Regional Healthcare Issues Cannot Be Solved Simply by Increasing Admissions"

The 5th Health and Medical Policy Deliberation Committee Convened

On January 27, Minister of Health and Welfare Jeong Eun-kyung stated, "Issues related to regional, essential, and public healthcare cannot be resolved simply by increasing the number of medical school admissions," adding, "We need to implement comprehensive health and medical policies."

On the 27th, Jeong Eun-kyeong, Minister of Health and Welfare, is speaking at the 5th Health and Medical Policy Deliberation Committee held at the Expert Advisory Meeting Room of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service in Seocho-gu, Seoul. January 27, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News

Minister Jeong made these remarks while attending the 5th Health and Medical Policy Deliberation Committee (HMPDC), which was convened to discuss the scale of medical school admissions for the 2027 academic year and beyond.

Minister Jeong explained, "Taking into account the predictability for universities and students, as well as policy stability, we have set 2037 as the target year for our policy goals. We plan to increase admissions for five years from 2027 to 2031, with a reassessment scheduled for 2029." She added, "At the previous, fourth meeting, we decided to discuss six different models, considering future environments and policy changes."

She continued, "At today's meeting, we plan to receive reports on the outcomes of last week's 'Medical Workforce Training Forum' and the results of the task force meeting that discussed the medical workforce supply and demand projection models." She added, "I hope we can find common ground by thoroughly considering the strengths and weaknesses of each model and the realities of medical education on the ground."

Minister Jeong emphasized, "Through the Medical Innovation Committee, we will gather opinions on measures to train teaching staff, and I plan to report the results at next week's HMPDC meeting." She continued, "Yesterday, a revision to the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on Health and Medical Services, aimed at expanding civilian members of the HMPDC, was pre-announced for legislation. The government will swiftly push forward with institutional improvements in line with the directions set by the committee."