Health Minister Cho Kyu-hong speaks during a briefing at Government Complex Seoul, Monday, about the ministry's New Year policy plans submitted to President Yoon Suk Yeol earlier in the day. Yonhap

By Lee Hyo-jin

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and medical groups are at loggerheads over the government's proposal to increase the medical student quota, a plan which the government had previously retracted following fierce protests from doctors in 2020.

The thorny issue was brought up again in the ministry's New Year policy briefing to President Yoon Suk Yeol, Monday, promising to speed up discussions with the medical community on its plan to raise the quota to deal with a looming shortage of physicians in Korea.

The admissions quota across 40 medical schools in the country has remained unchanged after it was set at 3,058 in 2006, whereas the quota for nursing schools doubled to over 23,000 during the same period.

Health authorities view that the fixed quota is largely responsible for the shortage of doctors in Korea.

As of 2020, the number of physicians in Korea ― excluding traditional Korean doctors ― per 1,000 people came to 2.5, which is lower that the OECD average of 3.6. While the figure stands at 3.1 in Seoul, the figure is much lower in rural regions. There were 1.5 doctors per 1,000 residents in Ulsan Metropolitan City, 1.4 in North Gyeongsang Province and 0.9 in Sejong City.

A recent study by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs predicted that, at this pace, the nation will face a shortage of up to 27,232 doctors by 2035.

Against this backdrop, the government is seeking to increase the medical student quota, which would also help address an acute shortage of surgeons, obstetricians and pediatricians.

Trainee doctors at Catholic University of Korea Seoul St. Mary's Hospital College of Medicine stage a rally to protest the government's plan to increase the medical student quota, Aug. 7, 2020. Korea Times file

The doctors, however, are not on the same page. They argue that the issue should be resolved by ensuring better compensation for physicians working in essential medical fields, and not by simply increasing the number of doctors.

Lim Hyun-taek, head of the Korea Pediatric Society, held a rally in front of the health ministry building, Tuesday, demanding the retraction of what he called an "absurd plan which would demolish the country's medical system," and called for the resignation of Health Minister Cho Kyu-hong.

He cried foul over the government's unilateral push to increase the admission quota by 350 students beginning next year. But the health ministry denied Lim's claim, saying that no decision has been made yet on "detailed numbers or a timeline" on raising the admissions quota."

The ministry also stressed that it will thoroughly discuss the matter with the Korea Medical Association (KMA), the country's largest doctors' group with 130,000 members.

In 2020, the previous Moon Jae-in government's proposal to raise the medical student quota to 4,000 by establishing new state-run medical schools in rural regions drew a fierce backlash from the KMA and medical students. Thousands of trainee doctors staged a walkout, while medical students boycotted the state license exam.

Following a dispute that lasted weeks, the government took a step back and the two sides agreed to resume discussions from square one when the coronavirus situation is stabilized. With the pandemic showing signs of slowing down, the government is seeking to resume talks in the coming weeks.

So far, the situation is developing unfavorably for the KMA, with the Ministry of Education also supporting the plan to raise the admissions quotas at medical schools. In December last year, the education ministry officially requested health authorities to review the plan to increase the medical student quota to guarantee better access to medical services to the public and improve the regional disparity of medical resources.

Talks are also gaining momentum at the National Assembly. A dozen bills have been proposed to establish new medical schools across the country.