The government has expressed an intention to consider the Korean Medical Association (KMA) proposal to increase the medical school enrollment quota by reducing that for oriental medicine schools.

In a parliamentary debate on Wednesday, KMA proposed specific methods to expand the number of medical school students by reducing the number of oriental medical schools in universities with both western and oriental medical schools by reducing the admission quota of the latter to increase that for the former.

“As we decided to collect opinions from various professions, we will listen to the opinions of oriental doctors and examine them together," Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyoo-hong said. He was responding to a question from Rep. Shin Hyun-young of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), who asked the minister’s views on the proposal from oriental doctors.

In response to the proposal to reduce the enrollment quota at oriental medical schools and expand that for Western medical schools, some in the National Assembly expressed the need to expand the discussion to a unified medical care system.

"I hope we will expand the discussion from increasing medical school enrollment quota to integrating the healthcare system in the long run,’ Rep. Suh Young-seok, also a DPK lawmaker. “I ask the Ministry of Health and Welfare to provide a step toward achieving social consensus.”

Minister Cho said, “I'm worried that the discussion of integrating the healthcare system will overshadow other discussions. Still, I'll discuss it because it's the right direction.”

There were also calls from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to speed up increasing the number of medical school students.

"Some say that the discussion on expanding the number of medical schools students have stalled (due to the backlash from the medical community)," Rep. Lee Jong-seong of the ruling People Power Party (PPP). "Those who have opposed expanding the number of medical school students over the past 10 years should take responsibility and make self-reflections. In that regard, the Ministry of Health and Welfare should take the lead from now on.”

Rep. Kang Ki-yoon, another PPP lawmaker, said, “We must expand the number of medical school students to facilitate public access to healthcare, address regional healthcare disparities, and ensure access to essential care.”

Kang went on to say, "It takes a lot of time to build a new medical school, so we need to look at where new medical schools are needed and add them to existing ones. In four provinces – South Gyeongsangnam, North Gyeongsang, South Jeolla, and North Jeolla -- we need to build new medical schools to solve the medical divide problem.”

Responding to a question that resistance from the medical community has put the issue in limbo, Minister Cho said, “The government has reached consensus with the medical community and will push to expand medical school students by reflecting it in the upcoming 2025 admissions.”

Cho emphasized that the government is moving forward with a strong commitment. As for the specific size of the increase, the government will listen to the demand side and check the current hardware and software of medical schools to see how much they can accommodate, he added.

"We will do our best not to repeat the failure to increase the number of medical school students in 2020 and reflect it in the 2025 enrollment, expanding the number of medical school students and taking measures to improve essential medical care, expand infrastructure, improve working conditions, and provide reasonable compensation,” the minister said.