Since the announcement of the medical school expansion policy last year, the dialogue between the government and the medical community, which has been in prolonged conflict, is reviving. However, given the deep-rooted nature of the conflict, achieving a major compromise is not expected to be easy. The change in attitude of the residents and medical students, who were the first to oppose the expansion and took collective action, is important, but they remain lukewarm for now.
According to the medical community on the 24th, the Korean Medical Association plans to participate in the public hearing on 'legislation of the health care workforce supply and demand forecasting organization' hosted by the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee in early February. Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho and Chairman of the Korean Medical Association Kim Taek-woo met privately to discuss the issue of medical school enrollment for the 2026 academic year.
Interpretations suggest that the long-disconnected dialogue between the government and the medical community is regaining momentum. The Korean Medical Association, a legal entity, had refrained from participating in the dialogue table due to opposition to the medical school expansion policy last year. The joint committee involving the Korean Medical Association was derailed by the 'Emergency Martial Law Declaration of December 3,' which targeted residents, and as a result, the dialogue between the government and the medical community effectively halted.
To prevent a deepening of the medical workforce gap and chaos in next year's college admissions, the medical school enrollment for the 2026 academic year must be decided by February. The government is strongly willing to engage in dialogue with the medical community to reach an agreement, urging them by stating, "We will discuss the medical school enrollment for the 2026 academic year from the beginning."
Before the expansion, the medical school enrollment was 3,058 students. With an increase of 2,000, it rose to 5,058 starting this year. The number of new student recruits this year has been adjusted to 4,610 based on requests from university presidents considering the conflict between the government and medical community. As the government is open to discussing the medical school enrollment from the start, there is a possibility that the 2026 academic year enrollment may decrease from this figure. Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho officially apologized, saying, "The contents of the declaration are completely different from the government's policy," and expressed sincere regret and condolences to the affected residents and medical personnel.
The government and the medical community are expected to engage in a power struggle over the 'forecasting organization for health care personnel' at the public hearing scheduled for early February. Currently, the bill related to the adjustment of medical school enrollment is pending in the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee.
The Korean Medical Association argues that the forecasting committee should be a decision-making body rather than a deliberative one, and that a majority of members recommended by health and medical organizations should be included. However, it is difficult for the government to accept such demands, as it would mean relinquishing decision-making authority, especially for the Ministry of Education and other governmental agencies. The National Assembly plans to collect opinions until the public hearing next month and finalize the proposal to push for the bill's processing.
Residents still remain lukewarm. Most of the residents who left their training hospitals last year refuse to return. The government has proposed incentives such as training and enlistment exceptions, but there has been no change. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, only 199 out of 9,220 former residents applied for the first half of this year's recruitment conducted from the 15th to the 19th of last month, which is just 2.2%. The majority of former residents do not have the intention to return.
Although additional recruitment of residents is scheduled for next month, many of the former residents have already found jobs and are working as paid doctors in clinics and private practices. The medical community believes that it is not easy to win back the hearts of former residents who have already turned away. Some in the medical community are calling for a change in the Minister and Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, holding them responsible for the conflict.
The Korean Medical Association holds the position that dialogue can only begin once the government presents a master plan for normalizing medical education. Kim Taek-woo, who was inaugurated on the 8th, stated, "Unlike the past Korean Medical Association that did not engage in discussions with the government or political circles, I will create an association that actively leads discussions on policy," while also demanding the government to "first present the master plan for medical education."
Korean Medical Association Vice President Park Dan noted that, in response to questions about what measures the medical community would propose to resolve the conflict, "The medical community has repeatedly told the government that the proposed policies are impractical, yet the government has pressed on with them," and added, "The government, which has enlarged the situation without listening to the voices from the field, must present countermeasures to the problem." He pointed out that the government should have first thought about how to improve the training environment and how to attract the younger generation into so-called undesirable specialties.