Amidst the ongoing tensions between the government and the medical community over next year's medical school enrollment, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik and Korea Medical Association President Kim Taek-woo will have a closed-door meeting on the 17th. Attention is focused on whether a clue to resolve the medical school enrollment issue for next year can be found during this first official meeting with the political community since Kim's inauguration on the 1st.
According to the government and the medical community on the 16th, discussions on the 2026 medical school enrollment are ongoing on a 'zero base' basis. Minister Cho Kyu-hong explained during a parliamentary question session on the 14th, "We will adjust the numbers based on on-site opinions and supply and demand estimates without having a specific number in mind, ranging from 3058 to 5058 students."
The 3058 students refer to the enrollment for 2024, and the government decided last February to increase the enrollment for the 2025 academic year by 2000 students to 5058. Subsequently, there has been backlash from the medical community, and the government's position is that the 2026 medical school enrollment discussions will proceed on a 'zero base' basis.
The medical community continues to reiterate calls for the cancellation of the increase. At a public hearing on the legalization of a workforce estimation organization held by the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee on the 14th, Professor Heo Yoon-jung of Dankook University Hospital's Department of Trauma Surgery stated, "It is physically and qualitatively impossible to educate 2 to 3 times the number of students," adding, "A sabbatical year in which no medical students are admitted in 2026 is necessary."
The National Assembly is expected to process a bill for the establishment of a physician supply and demand estimation committee in the standing committee this month. However, since the medical community is opposing the composition and role of the estimation committee, it remains uncertain whether it will be established in time. Even if the committee is hurriedly formed, it will be virtually impossible to reach an agreement by the deadline set by the government for next year's medical school enrollment in February.
This is why voices advocating for separate discussions on next year's medical school enrollment alongside the estimation committee are gaining strength. In this context, attention is drawn to whether a solution can emerge as National Assembly Speaker Woo and President Kim prepare for a closed-door meeting. The meeting will also include Park Joo-min, chair of the Health and Welfare Committee, and Park Dan, the chair of the 대전협 (Korea Association of Medical Professionals).