The Ministry of National Defense announced on the 21st that those who have not completed military service among resignation interns will fulfill their military duty as military doctors in phases over the next four years and that service as soldiers is not possible.
A Ministry of National Defense official noted during a press briefing that "those who graduate from medical school and acquire a medical license will be incorporated into the candidate officer program after signing a contract as interns with the training institutions, which will delay their induction until completing the training process (internship and residency) and afterwards serve as medical officers," adding that "once incorporated into the candidate officer program, they cannot serve as soldiers."
The Ministry of National Defense has a stance that although there are opinions advocating for allowing those who have not completed military service among resignation interns to choose service as soldiers rather than military doctors (active-duty officers) or public health doctors (reserve soldiers), it cannot accommodate this.
A Ministry of National Defense official stated, "Recently, candidate medical officers in training were set to enlist sequentially as medical officers from this year until 2028," but noted that "over 3,300 candidate medical officers have resigned from their training institutions last year and became eligible for enlistment this year."
He continued, "This exceeds the planned military personnel requirements for each year, so the remaining participants after selecting active-duty medical officers (military doctors) will either be incorporated into public health doctor roles or continue to be managed as candidate medical officers based on Article 120 of the Military Service Act."
The Ministry of National Defense selects between 600 to 700 candidate medical officers as military doctors each year. The remaining 200 to 300 individuals are incorporated as reserve soldiers to work as public health doctors in local medical institutions.
Typically, around 1,000 candidate medical officers fulfill their military duty each year. However, due to the mass resignation of interns, this year's enlistment candidates have increased more than threefold, and they will sequentially select either military doctors or public health doctors over the next four years.
The Ministry of National Defense recently proposed a legislative amendment to the 'Regulations Concerning the Selection and Induction of Medical and Veterinary Officers' that includes provisions for managing candidate medical officers who are classified as 'non-selected active-duty personnel' while awaiting induction.
A Ministry of National Defense official explained regarding the selection method for military doctors, "Candidate medical officers who have reached the age of 33, which qualifies them for military exemption, will be prioritized for enlistment, and we will also consider the intentions of those who have expressed their preferences regarding the enlistment timing."
Regarding the tendency of candidate medical officers to prefer public health doctors over military doctors, a Ministry of National Defense official said, "Selection for military doctors takes precedence," adding that "we cannot allow candidate medical officers to choose between military doctors and public health doctors."