South Korean president opens way for talks on number of medical school students

On April 1, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol gave a national address on the government’s healthcare reform plan. He called on doctors to come up with a “unified proposal” on appropriately increasing medical school enrollment, and the government would be willing to negotiate.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol. Photo: Yonhap

According to Yonhap, Mr. Yoon Suk-yeol made this proposal in the context of little sign of a breakthrough in resolving the conflict between the government and the medical community over increasing enrollment quotas. The speech lasted 50 minutes and was broadcast live from the presidential office, ahead of the general election on April 10.

According to the South Korean President, the 2,000 figure is the minimum increase that the government has come up with through careful calculations and based on extensive and comprehensive discussions with the medical community, including doctors' groups. If the medical community wants to argue for reducing the number, they should only submit a unified proposal to the government with a clear and scientific basis, and not take collective action or quit their jobs. Mr. Yoon affirmed that if they come up with a more reasonable solution, the two sides can discuss it at any time.

About 12,000 doctors have walked off the job since February 20 in protest at the government's plans, while medical professors have resigned en masse to join the collective action. Senior doctors and professors at major hospitals have announced they will reduce their working hours starting this week to deal with growing fatigue caused by a shortage of medical staff. Community doctors have said they will follow suit.

According to President Yoon Suk-yeol, there are currently 115,000 doctors in the country. Even if an additional 2,000 were added, it would still take 10 years for doctors to be trained and enter the workforce. He stressed that the government’s proposed healthcare reform package also promises to invest more than 10 trillion won ($7.4 billion) in essential medical practitioners and those in rural areas; and establish a legal safety net to better protect doctors from excessive medical malpractice lawsuits.

Concerned that doctors' incomes will decrease in the future, Mr. Yoon Suk-yeol said that will not happen because in the next 20 years, people's income and health care needs will increase much more.

HUY QUOC

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/tong-thong-han-quoc-mo-duong-dam-phan-ve-so-luong-sinh-vien-truong-y-post733305.html