Doctors' group renews demand to revisit medical school quota hike

Seoul, Oct 2 (IANS) A major lobby group of community doctors on Wednesday renewed its demand for the government to revisit the 2025 medical school admissions quota, clouding prospects for a breakthrough to resolve months-long walkouts by junior doctors.

Choi Anna, a spokesperson for the Korea Medical Association (KMA), told reporters that the association will not join a government-organised committee tasked with estimating the medical workforce shortage, unless the government opens talks about a possible change in the 2025 medical school admissions quota.

Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong has said it is impossible to amend the planned increase in the medical school admission quota for next year, as universities already fixed details for their enrolment plans, reports Yonhap news agency.

"As the government insisted on opening discussions without limits in agendas, the admission quota for 2025 must be discussed," Choi said.

"While the government claims that the increase in next year's medical school quota is irreversible simply because the admissions process has begun, it is still possible if it decides to act," Choi said.

Thousands of trainee doctors have been absent from their workplaces in a form of mass resignation since February, with the medical community calling for discussions on the agenda from scratch.

Meanwhile, a presidential committee on medical reform is set to establish a new body to estimate the shortage of doctors and better reflect the medical community's demand amid the protracted walkout, a senior official said.

About 12,000 trainee doctors have left their worksites since February 20 in protest of the government's plan to boost the number of medical students by 2,000.

The permanent body will use data, such as the number of medical graduates, population demographics and health insurance statistics, to estimate the required number of healthcare workers for the future.

--IANS

na/