Ministry, doctors clash over decision process of expansion plan

Kim Chang-soo, who heads the Medical Professors Association of Korea, speaks during a press conference held at the Korean Medical Association's headquarters in Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, Monday. (Yonhap)

The government and doctors continued their fight Monday over whether the expansion plan to have 2,000 more students starting next year has been determined through appropriate procedures ahead of a court's ruling set for this week.

The medical community lashed out at the document presented by the government, claiming it shows the decision was made "arbitrarily without logical justification."

The document showed that Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong proposed having 2,000 more medical students starting the 2025 school year in a medical policy review body meeting on Feb. 6, attended by 23 people from various sectors, including the government, doctors and civic groups. This was when the announcement of the quota hike was made.

There, 19 out of 23 attendees voted in favor of the plan, while the remaining four, presumed to be authorities from the medical community, disagreed, according to local reports. The decision was taken by the majority.

An official who voted against the plan was quoted as saying that "adding 2,000 more slots to the current quota exceeds the range of expansion that the society can handle." Instead, the member voiced that the appropriate increase should be between 350 and 700. Another official suggested lifting the quota between 500 and 1,000. Members of civic groups demanded increasing the quota by 3,000.

Health Minister Cho, however, pushed for having 2,000 more students, explaining that the number was determined based on the projected medical supply and demand in 2035. The document further showed that the government estimated that the country would fall short of some 10,000 doctors in 2035 due to the growing demand for medical services from the rapidly aging population, while medically vulnerable areas would need 5,000 more doctors.

By Park Jun-hee(junheee@heraldcorp.com)