Medical school admissions concession unlikely to end protest

A concession by the government of South Korea, which cuts back its planned increase by 2,000 in the number of medical school places available annually, is unlikely to end the protest action by thousands of medical students, trainees and professors that has included class boycotts, resignations and strikes.

Although some universities have accepted the government’s offer to reduce the number of new places, professional medical bodies continue to call for a complete reversal of the plan first announced on 20 February which seeks to increase the number of new medical school places from 3,000 to 5,000 per year.

Students and professors have opposed the increases saying expanding medical student numbers will affect the quality of medical education. But the increases are popular with school-leavers and their families as demand for medical degrees is high in South Korea. It is also popular with a general public concerned about a shortage of doctors outside the Seoul region.

Greater flexibility

The government accepted a proposal put forward by the presidents of six national universities on Friday 19 April, a day after the universities called for flexibility in determining medical school quotas within the government's current plan.

The universities said that for 2025 admissions they would voluntarily recruit new students within a range of 50% to 100% of the increased medical school capacity in the government’s plan. The universities would choose how many places to add within that range.

But this would only be for the 2025 intake. Universities are under pressure to adjust their entrance exams for the 2025 intake and fix the numbers to admit by the end of this month. After 30 April the extent of medical school expansion will also be confirmed and cannot be changed before the 2026 intake plan.

Among the universities endorsing the proposal were Kangwon National University, Kyungpook National University, Gyeongsang National University, Chungnam National University, Chungbuk National University, and Jeju National University. These are all regional universities that were going to receive a bigger share of the extra places.

In a special briefing on Friday 19 April Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said the government had accepted the universities’ proposal as a step towards resolving the issue.

“In a situation where a unified alternative from the medical field is difficult, the government cannot afford to leave unresolved the damage caused by medical gaps. We have recognised the heavy demands of the people and patients urging a solution to the problem. Thus, bold decisions are deemed necessary,” he said.

Depending on the adjustments made by individual universities, the expected increase in medical school admissions for the 2025 academic year, initially set at 2,000, is projected to be in the range of 1,000 to 1,700 students.

Still at odds

Despite the government’s concession, within two days both sides were at odds again.

Sticking to their original stance, the Korean Medical Association (KMA) along with the Korean Association of Medical Colleges and the Emergency Committee of Medical Schools nationwide insisted on a reevaluation of the government’s expansion plan from scratch, or a one-year deferment in implementation. By Saturday, a group of medical school professors from 40 universities and the KMA was demanding the expansion be scrapped entirely.

Specialist doctors also declared they would not engage in talks with the government unless it completely retracted the expansion plan. Deans of 40 medical schools nationwide issued another joint appeal to the government on Sunday 21 April calling for the freezing of medical school admissions for the 2025 academic year.

The government has reiterated it will push ahead with medical reform. Minister of Health and Welfare Jo Gyu-hong stated on Monday: “Instead of advocating for a return to the starting point or a one-year deferment, which would delay urgent essential medical expansion, and is not in line with public sentiment, we hope for unified proposals.”

Time pressure

Thursday 25 April marks one month since the beginning of the resignation submissions by professors of 40 medical schools nationwide in protest at the initial proposals. According to the country’s civil law, these resignations will take effect regardless of their being approved.

The professors’ groups warned: “If all professors who submitted resignations leave, major hospitals nationwide will practically cease surgeries. There is a high possibility of a medical crisis where emergency surgeries are disrupted.”

In a statement, the Emergency Committee of the KMA emphasised: “We don’t have much time to solve this issue. Medical schools cannot continue their academic schedules from May [onwards] and university hospitals cannot operate normally, and are unable to sustain [services] until May. If university hospitals fail to function properly, critical, emergency, and essential medical services will be compromised. Specialists cannot return to hospitals, and students will be left unguided.”

The KMA committee called on President Yoon Suk Yeol to reconsider the issue from scratch, stressing that medical cooperation for healthcare reform is essential, but cannot be achieved by force.

Some 13,000 trainee doctors – including 90% of all interns – currently on strike, have also demanded the government cancel its expansion plan. The South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that medical students planned a collective court injunction to halt the expansion plans.