South Korea Urges Medical Groups to Renew Talks with Government

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Park Min-soo calls for renewed talks with medical community.
- Government plans to increase medical school admissions.
- Concerns over disruption of medical education and patient care.
- Willingness to negotiate on admissions quotas.
- Ongoing mass resignation of trainee doctors affecting healthcare.
Seoul, Feb 13 (NationPress) Park Min-soo, the Second Vice Health Minister of South Korea, urged the medical community on Thursday to restart discussions with the government in an effort to break the ongoing impasse regarding medical reform.
"It is extremely disappointing and regrettable that there are currently no dialogues happening between the government and the medical community," Min-soo remarked during a government conference, emphasizing the need for doctors' organizations to return to the negotiation process, as reported by Yonhap news agency.
Since February of last year, thousands of trainee doctors have been absent from their duties due to a mass resignation, as the medical community continues to push the government to reconsider its decision to increase the number of medical students.
Previously, the government revealed plans to boost medical school admissions by 1,500 students for 2025, as part of an extensive initiative to raise the total by roughly 10,000 over the next five years to tackle the doctor shortage.
Min-soo stated that the government is striving to stabilize the medical system and alleviate challenges faced by junior doctors.
"Some individuals express concern that the medical community, including trainee doctors and medical students, are not returning to discussions with the government or resuming their positions in an attempt to disrupt the nation's training of medical professionals and patient care, thereby placing the government under pressure to concede to their demands," Min-soo explained.
"I hope these concerns are unfounded and assure that such behaviors are intolerable."
Last month, acting President Choi Sang-mok indicated that the government is willing to reevaluate the medical school admissions quota for the upcoming year from a fresh perspective, raising hopes for a resolution to the extended walkout by trainee doctors.
"If the medical community engages in discussions, we are ready to negotiate the scale of the 2026 medical school quota increase flexibly from a clean slate," Sang-mok stated during a meeting with ministers focused on social issues.