KPL
(KPL/Yonhap) Republic of Korea's largest advocacy group for doctors on Tuesday called for the resumption of talks between the government and the medical community to end their prolonged standoff over a government-initiated medical reform plan.
(KPL/Yonhap) Republic of Korea's largest advocacy group for doctors on Tuesday called for the resumption of talks between the government and the medical community to end their prolonged standoff over a government-initiated medical reform plan.
"We ask the government and the National Assembly to open a negotiation table to discuss the medical community's proposal of measures to normalize the medical system," the Korean Medical Association (KMA) said in a press briefing.
"Normalization of the medical system is an issue the current government must solve before the next administration comes in," it added.
The KMA's call comes amid a protracted walkout by thousands of trainee doctors and medical school students over the government's medical reform plan, which included a sharp increase in the medical school admissions quota.
The ongoing walkout has disrupted hospital services across the nation, particularly emergency room operations.
Students at most medical schools nationwide returned to classrooms last month as the government announced a conditional decision to bring the medical school enrollment quota back to around 3,000 for 2026 from over 5,000 this year. The government had planned to increase medical school admissions by a total of 10,000 over five years to address what it called a chronic shortage of doctors.
Junior doctors, however, are continuing their yearlong walkout while calling on the government to review its reform plan from scratch.
The KMA called on the government to set the medical school admissions quota for 2026 at 3,058 without further conditions to get rid of uncertainties surrounding the issue and to cut the number of admissions if the schools are unable to provide proper training.
It also urged the government to apologize for impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol's orders last year for trainee doctors to return to their work, as well as the controversial martial law decree issued Dec. 3 that ordered trainee doctors and all other medical personnel to return to their positions within 48 hours or face punishment.
The martial law decree has infringed on medical workers' rights and occupational freedom under the Constitution, the KMA said.
The presidential committee on medical reform should also be disbanded as Yoon is no longer in office, it insisted.
The KMA plans to hold a rally in Seoul on April 20 to call on the government and the political circles to normalize the national medical system.
KPL
