Korea pledges W5tr to improve medical training amid prolonged standoff

S. Korea to invest 5 trillion won to improve education conditions, support doctors

Amid a prolonged standoff between the government and medical sectors over the increased medical enrollment quota, a classroom for medical students is empty at a school in Daegu. (Yonhap)

Amid a monthslong stalemate between the government and medical communities over the state's decision to increase the medical school enrollment quota, South Korea said it will inject about 5 trillion won ($3.7 billion) by 2030 to improve medical education conditions.

In line with the expansion of medical schools, the Ministry of Education and related ministries announced an investment plan Tuesday, including increasing the number of professors at national universities by 1,000 over three years, providing advanced equipment for experiments and laboratories, and focusing on supporting national hospitals to develop them into regional centers for essential medical care.

"Since March, the government has been actively working to establish an interministerial task force to support medical education and to secure relevant financial and human resources so that more students can receive new medical education in line with the changing social environment under improved educational conditions," explained Vice Minister of Education Oh Seok-hwan on the intent behind the plan at a press briefing held in Government Complex Seoul.

Mainly focused on improving medical education conditions, about 2 trillion won from the Education Ministry will be allocated over six years, while the Welfare Ministry's investment plan, which focuses on training and hospital support for trainees, is about 3 trillion won.

To accommodate the immediate increase of an additional 1,500-plus medical students enrolling next year from the previous quota of 3,058, the universities will remodel old school facilities in the short term, while the government will expedite the construction of new buildings by waiving pre-feasibility studies if necessary.

Regarding educational cadavers, which are in short supply due to the increase in enrollment, the state will amend related laws to allow donor bodies to be provided to medical schools with the consent of the deceased and their families.

For bottom-up support, medical schools will be provided 55.1 billion won to establish educational innovation plans with local governments, to foster excellent medical personnel.

The government expects universities to plan to run community medical camps for medical students, strengthen medical science research courses, develop courses that incorporate advanced technology and run joint curricula with overseas medical schools.

The government will also amend laws to transfer the management of national hospitals from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Welfare, which would allow the state to effectively coordinate various hospital-related budgets under its jurisdiction.

Investing heavily in research and development in the health care sector is also underway, as well as strengthening financial support for students and doctors at all stages of their careers, from undergraduate to master's degree to doctorate, to help them become "physician-scientists."

To ensure that local talent is settled in the region after the educational courses, the proportion of utilizing a “local talent model” among medical schools in 26 areas outside Seoul will be gradually increased to 59.7 percent in 2025 and 61.8 percent in 2026.

Next year, the government will introduce a “contractual essential doctor system” to support 96 trainee doctors in eight medical specialties in four regions with a monthly regional work allowance of 4 million won.

While the medical community is demanding that the government immediately cancel next year's medical school recruitment, the legal and educational communities believe it is not feasible to cancel the 2025 medical school recruitment plan, as the entrance examination reflecting the increased number of seats is currently underway.

If the government reduces the number of applications for next year, there are concerns that class action lawsuits could be filed by prospective medical students and their parents, and that confusion among test-takers could lead to “innocent victims."

Meanwhile, South Korea's population of some 52 million had 2.6 doctors per 1,000 people in 2022, far below the average of 3.7 for countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Previous governments have devised measures to tackle deepening shortages of doctors in rural regions and clinics outside the Greater Seoul area as well as essential services including pediatrics and emergency units. However, their efforts fell apart amid strong opposition from the medical sector, which continues into this year regarding the hike plan to increase the quota for medical students.

By Choi Jeong-yoon(jychoi@heraldcorp.com)