The Minister of Health and Welfare visited the Korean Medical Association Organization and the Daehan Hospital Association's "medical community New Year's greeting ceremony" for the first time in four years. It was a conciliatory move amid a standoff between the government and the medical community over the projections of the physician workforce estimation committee regarding the expansion of medical school enrollment. But the medical community's response was cold. Warnings and sharp criticism rang louder than calls for cooperation at the venue.
Korean Medical Association Organization President Kim Taek-woo on Jan. 8 directly criticized the government's physician supply projections at the New Year's greeting ceremony held at the association's hall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Kim said, "There are countries that estimate physician workforce needs over two years and release the results over six years," adding, "It is concerning that a hasty conclusion was reached in a short period of five months."
Kim went on to say, "Because health care is a field with high uncertainty, the medical community has no choice but to speak up so that the committee's discussions proceed rationally," adding, "If the current projection model holds, National Health Insurance finances are expected to reach about 240 trillion won in 2040 and 700 trillion won in 2060." He added, "I earnestly hope the conflict over increasing medical school seats from two years ago is not repeated."
Concerns were also raised about medical education conditions. Kim said, "We are in a 'doubling' situation where the classes of '24 and '25 are taking courses simultaneously, but the education support the government promised is virtually nonexistent," stressing, "As medical education is not being carried out properly, it is time to review the education system through a 'medical education council.'"
Kim Gyo-ung, chair of the Korean Medical Association Organization's House of Delegates, used even stronger language. Citing the large shortfalls faced by regional university hospitals during recruitment of residents for 2026, Kim said, "The problem is not the number of doctors, but that there are no doctors willing to specialize in essential care."
Using pediatrics as a case in point, Kim said, "Twenty-one hospitals sought to recruit 57 residents, but only 13 applied," adding, "The department itself is on the brink of disappearing, and this shows how far government policy on physician supply, which looks 10 or 15 years ahead, is from conditions on the ground." Kim urged a hard-line response from the association's leadership as well, saying, "If there is no change, the House of Delegates will have no choice but to take extraordinary measures."
In response, Minister of Health and Welfare Jung Eun-kyeong emphasized cooperation, invoking "dongjugongje (同舟共濟)." Minister Jung said, "Over the past year, the government and the medical community have gone through a period of deep conflict, and the scars left by the process are not light," adding, "Since we are in the same boat, we must cross the river together."
Minister Jung also said, "The government and the medical community share the same understanding on strengthening essential care and addressing regional health care issues," adding, "We also share a sense of urgency that this may be the last time to start health care reform." But Jung added, "Since there is not much time, even if we know the best course, we must create change with second-best options that can be implemented immediately."
It has been four years since a welfare minister attended the medical community's New Year's greeting ceremony, the last being Minister Kwon Deok-cheol in 2022. In the meantime, the Ministry of Health and Welfare either sent the second vice minister in place of the minister or did not attend the event.