Rival parties unite to form 4-way body to break med school standoff

People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon (Yonhap)

South Korea's rival political parties on Friday united in a rare display of bipartisan cooperation to form a four-party consultative body with the Yoon Suk Yeol administration and the medical community, aiming to jump-start negotiations over the medical school enrollment hike, which have been at the root of health care disruptions since February.

People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon proposed the formation of a four-way consultative body, bringing together the Yoon government, ruling and opposition parties and the medical community to resolve the ongoing monthslong medical crisis triggered by junior doctors' collective walkout in protest of the government's quota increase.

"The issue of increasing the number of seats in medical school admissions has disturbed services in health care. Public inconvenience and anxiety over emergency medical services are increasing," Han told reporters during his visit to the National Council of Churches in Korea.

"The four parties should come together and work on how to bring health care back to normalcy, ensure that medical reform is carried out efficiently so that it could benefit the public and seek reasonable alternatives in increasing the seats in medical schools," he stressed.

When asked whether the formation of a consultative body had been coordinated with the presidential office, Han responded, "I believe the presidential office is also on the sample page on this matter."

In response, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea issued a statement calling for the "prompt activation" of the four-party consultative body.

Democratic Party spokesperson Rep. Noh Jong-myun emphasized that the party's Floor Leader Rep. Park Chan-dae was the first to propose the establishment of the four-way consultative body to resolve the medical crisis during his National Assembly speech Wednesday.

"The People Power Party must stop tiptoeing around Yongsan and initiate coming up with practical measures to prevent the collapse of the health care system," Noh said, referring to the location of the presidential office.

National Assembly Speaker Rep. Woo Won-shik of the main opposition Democratic Party welcomed Han's proposal and the government's flexible approach to solving the problem.

"We need to find a solution in the health care field. The ruling and opposition parties stand on the same page in resolving the issue. Let's meet immediately or next week if necessary and address the public's concerns," Woo said.

Open to fresh negotiations

People Power Party Floor Leader Rep. Choo Kyung-ho earlier in the day urged the medical sector to promptly return to the negotiation table to resume discussions about an appropriate increase in the medical school enrollment quota for the 2026 school year and medical reform, heeding doctors' repeated requests.

"The party and the government are still waiting for the medical community to return to the dialogue table and engage in discussions," Choo said during the party meeting at the National Assembly.

"The position of the government and the party is that, even now, we are fully open to discussing the issues of medical reform, including the expansion of medical school admissions for the 2026 academic year, from scratch."

A senior ruling party official, speaking anonymously, told Yonhap News Agency that President Yoon is "willing to discuss the quota hike open-mindedly" if the medical community proposes an increase based on "reasonable and scientific estimates," shrugging off rumors of a fixed 2,000-seat target.

The official also said Yoon's office welcomed the creation of a negotiating panel involving the government, ruling and opposition parties and the medical sector, noting that everything could be reviewed from a "zero-based" approach.

Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong echoed the sentiment during a radio interview with KBS on Friday, stressing that the government has consistently welcomed negotiations if the medical sector brings forth a reasonable proposal.

Ball in doctors' court

With the ball in the doctors' court now, the medical circle appeared cautious to the overture, as doctors have demanded the government scrap the hike for both the 2025 and 2026 school years, citing the sharp deterioration in quality of medical education and the decline in overall health care.

The emergency committee of medical professors at Seoul National University and Seoul National University Hospital -- the country's top medical institution and college -- said that the government should roll out a "reasonable plan" over the issue, not the medical circle.

"Our country has been in turmoil for seven months over the expansion plan, and the government continues to say that discussions are not taking place because the medical circle has not come up with a reasonable idea on the issue," it said in a statement.

"The government should propose the plan to the medical sector and the public on which data, scenarios and variables are appropriate to discuss and find the middle ground," the committee underscored.

The suggestions by Choo and Han are seen as a potential breakthrough in resolving the ongoing health care disruptions caused by the strikes of medical students and junior doctors. While hopes for an end to the monthslong stalemate have been reignited, previous attempts at dialogue since the standoff began in February have repeatedly fallen short.

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