DOCTORS STRIKE
South Korea ready to revise contentious medical school admissions plan, officials say
Doctors protest during a rally against government plans to increase medical school admissions and healthcare reform in Seoul, on June 18.
Sep 06, 2024
SEOUL - South Korea's presidential office said on Sept 6 it was open to revising a plan to increase medical school admissions, which has triggered months of protests by doctors nationwide.
“The discussion on medical school quotas can start from scratch if the medical community presents a reasonable suggestion,” the office said in a statement, in which it also urged the medical community to discuss options.
The government has said the plan will not be revoked.
Thousands of trainee doctors, including interns and resident doctors, walked off the job in February to protest the plan to increase medical student numbers by 2,000 a year starting 2025 to address what authorities project will be a severe shortage of medical professionals.
South Korea is one of the world’s fastest ageing societies.
Earlier in 2024, medical schools finalised their admission quotas for 2025 which was up nearly 1,500 compared to the previous year.
According to a Gallup Korea poll released on Sept 6, more than half of those polled support increasing medical school admissions in 2025.
But 64 per cent of those polled also said the government was poorly handling the situation, and that President Yoon Suk-yeol’s disapproval rating was at 67 per cent.
The health ministry earlier this week said it was deploying military doctors to meet the shortage of medical staff but disputed a warning by some physicians that the system was on the verge of collapse. REUTERS
SEOUL - South Korea's presidential office said on Sept 6 it was open to revising a plan to increase medical school admissions, which has triggered months of protests by doctors nationwide.
“The discussion on medical school quotas can start from scratch if the medical community presents a reasonable suggestion,” the office said in a statement, in which it also urged the medical community to discuss options.
The government has said the plan will not be revoked.
Thousands of trainee doctors, including interns and resident doctors, walked off the job in February to protest the plan to increase medical student numbers by 2,000 a year starting 2025 to address what authorities project will be a severe shortage of medical professionals.
South Korea is one of the world’s fastest ageing societies.
Earlier in 2024, medical schools finalised their admission quotas for 2025 which was up nearly 1,500 compared to the previous year.
According to a Gallup Korea poll released on Sept 6, more than half of those polled support increasing medical school admissions in 2025.
But 64 per cent of those polled also said the government was poorly handling the situation, and that President Yoon Suk-yeol’s disapproval rating was at 67 per cent.
The health ministry earlier this week said it was deploying military doctors to meet the shortage of medical staff but disputed a warning by some physicians that the system was on the verge of collapse. REUTERS
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