Gov’t allocates medical school placements despite doctors’ protests

The Korean government announced on Wednesday the results of increasing the medical school student quota nationwide for the 2025 school year by 2,000 and the student quota by the university. To address the medical gap between urban and rural areas, 1,639 student placements (82%) were assigned to medical schools outside the metropolitan area, while 361 placements were assigned to Gyeonggi and Incheon. Not one placement was increased in the Seoul area, where medical access is relatively easier.

The government’s actions are viewed as a way to determine the scale of the increase and conclude the issue. The Korean Medical Association mentioned a movement to protest the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's resignation from power. Hardliners are likely to win the medical association's election, which lasts until tomorrow. The conflict is heading toward a catastrophe as both medical and government stakeholders have lost their way out.

Though the government says that the increase cannot be postponed any longer, there are concerns about the quality of education by increasing the number of students by more than 65% of the current medical school quota. Universities are complaining that they do not have enough teaching resources or facilities. The government says it will hire 1,000 new medical professors at national universities, but how many applicants can be recruited at local medical schools is questionable. No financial measures on expanding essential medical services, a key policy initiative executed in parallel with increasing medical student quota, were announced.

The doctors who have left their posts at hospitals protesting the government’s actions are also at fault, turning a blind eye to the situation where demand for medical care is rising due to the aging population. The government drove the situation to the brink, even though a backlash was expected when increasing the medical student quota for the first time in 27 years. There are concerns that the situation may grow more serious if even medical school professors begin to resign on Mar 25. Who will be held accountable if the vacancy in medical care results in death for seriously ill and emergency patients?