How to deepen the ongoing medical crisis

We hope the education minister stops making trouble.

In yet another perplexing development, Education Minister Lee Ju-ho on Tuesday made a controversial remark during the National Assembly’s regular audit of the government. When asked about the ministry’s position on the proposed five-year education program for medical students instead of the current six years, he nonchalantly said, “If a medical school can afford it, we support it with our budget. But if not, we don’t give fiscal support.” On Tuesday, he presented the novel idea of shortening the six-year medical school curriculum by a year, but withheld it in two days.

The idea of the five-year program for medical students came amid the Education Ministry’s zigzagging steps over whether to allow medical schools to accept students’ demand for taking a leave of absence to protest the government’s plan to drastically increase the medical school admissions quota over the next five years. In a briefing on Sunday, the education minister said he will permit a leave of absence if medical students return to their classes next year. But he immediately surrendered after the head of Seoul National University (SNU) School of Medicine decided to accept students’ request for a leave of absence.

The Education Ministry pressured medical schools to not approve their students’ leave of absence. In June, the minister set a deadline for their return on early August and then extended it to September. After the SNU College of Medicine took the lead in approving the leave of absence, the minister extended the deadline to November. “If students return to school by November, they can finish their curriculum no matter what,” he claimed.

Amid the confusion, the minister came up with the five-year program. We seriously wondered if students can handle their excruciating classes in just a few months. Lee’s off-track words and actions are nothing new. After the conflict between the government and medical circles worsened in August, he said, “If we take an aggressive stance only for six months, we win.” After abruptly proposing to accept students from undecided majors as medical students, he was censored by the presidential office.

The country faces an unprecedented medical crisis after the massive walkout of trainee doctors at hospitals across the country eight months ago. If a communication channel between the government and doctors is closed due to the education minister’s one frivolous remark after another, a medical catastrophe is unavoidable. We wonder how the government would deal with the alarming scenario where a total of 7,500 students — including 4,500 freshmen and those who took a leave of absence in their first year at medical schools — take the same classes next year. We hope the education minister stops making trouble.