The Korean Council for Medical Education (KCMED) and other medical organizations have demanded that the government restore the medical school enrollment to the level prior to the transfer for next year. They also urged the government to quickly find a solution for medical students not returning to their studies despite the new semester starting.
According to the medical community on the 4th, KCMED sent an official letter containing three major demands to Minister of Social Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Lee Joo-ho, Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong, the People Power Party, and the Democratic Party on the 28th of last month.
Their demands include resetting the medical school enrollment for next year to 3,058, equivalent to the previous 2024 enrollment level, and that the enrollment after the 2027 academic year should be determined by the Medical Workforce Supply and Demand Commission. They also included a request for the Ministry of Education to specify support measures to improve the quality of medical education.
In preparing this request, KCMED consolidated opinions from eight organizations, including the Korean Medical Association, the Korea Medical Education Evaluation Institute, the Korea Association of Medical College (KAMC), the Korean Society of Medical Education, the Korean Society for Basic Medical Science, the Medical Education Training Center, the National University Hospital Association, and the Private Medical College Association. Although they sought opinions on the demands from four organizations, including the Korean Medical Association, the Korea Hospital Association, the Korean Association of Community Doctors, and the National Association of Medical College Professors, they reportedly did not receive any responses.
KCMED strongly urged that the 'urgent request of the medical community is a final opportunity,' stating, 'We strongly urge the government to make sincere decisions so that the return of students and normalization of medical schools can happen without delay.'
They added, 'If students do not return this semester and it is delayed until the second semester, it will be impossible to produce doctors for the second year,' and 'We can no longer afford to leave the declining Korean healthcare system unattended anymore.'
The medical community has consistently requested the government to revert the medical school enrollment to the scale before the transfer, as the confirmation of the enrollment for next year has been delayed. KAMC made this request during a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Lee Joo-ho on the 24th of last month; however, the government has not shown any significant response.
On the 4th, during a meeting with reporters at the Government Sejong Building, the Ministry of Education explained, 'We received the official letter this morning,' adding, 'The position of considering this from the beginning has not changed.'