South Korea: Health ministry expresses hope for talks with new doctors' group head

IANS January 9, 2025 211 views

South Korea's health ministry is seeking dialogue with the new Korean Medical Association leader to resolve a long-standing dispute over medical school quotas. The government wants to increase medical school seats to address doctor shortages, but the medical community strongly opposes the plan. Thousands of trainee doctors have been absent from work since last year in protest. Both sides hope to find a compromise that serves the public's healthcare needs.

"The public wishes for the normalisation of the country's medical system" - Park Min-soo, Second Vice Health Minister
Seoul, Jan 9: South Korea's health ministry on Thursday expressed hope for engaging in talks with the new head of the country's top doctors' lobby group amid a prolonged deadlock over medical reform.

Key Points

1

Government hopes to resolve conflict with medical community

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New KMA head Kim Taek-woo opposes medical school quota increase

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Thousands of trainee doctors have resigned since February 2023

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Plan aims to address doctor shortage through increased medical school seats

Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo made the remark during a government meeting, following the election of Kim Taek-woo as the new head of the Korean Medical Association the previous day, Yonhap news agency reported.

Kim has been vocal in his hawkish stance against increasing the medical school quota.

"We hope to hold face-to-face talks to promptly address the conflict between the government and the medical community," Park said.

"The public wishes for the normalisation of the country's medical system, and I believe the government and the medical community share a common consensus," Park added.

Kim, on the other hand, emphasised the need for the government to make a proactive change in its stance.

"The president who pushed forward the policy is currently absent, and it has been revealed the medical reform plan was flawed," Kim said upon his election. "The government should stop being stubborn and put an end to the policy."

Thousands of trainee doctors have been absent from their workplaces due to mass resignations since February last year, with the medical community urging the government to reconsider the planned hike in the medical school quota from scratch.

The government decided to increase the number of medical school seats by 1,500 for 2025, as part of a broader plan to raise the total by around 2,000 over the next five years to address a doctor shortage.

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