The number of newly hired employees at 15 national university hospitals dropped sharply from more than 7,000 in 2022 to about 2,700 as of the third quarter of 2024, according to a new report.

The report attributed the decline to the government-doctor conflict over the medical school enrollment quota increase.

Leaders Index, a corporate analysis firm, released the results of a survey on the number of employees and new hires at 339 public organizations as disclosed in the public sector management information disclosure system, “Alio,” on Thursday.

According to the analysis, the number of new hires at 15 national university hospitals under the Ministry of Education dropped from 7,029 in 2022 to 5,640 in 2023 and declined further to 2,793 by the third quarter of 2024.

“The number of new hires decreased the most in the aftermath of the medical school expansion dispute,” Leaders Index said.

In comparison, the number of full-time employees in the public sector exceeded 400,000 for the first time in 2022, reaching 406,668, but fell to 396,011 in the third quarter of 2024, a decrease of 4,657 in two-and-a-half years.

Regular full-time new hires decreased by 17.3 percent from 24,448 in 2022 to 20,207 in 2023 and by 33.9 percent to 13,350 at the end of 2024, nearly halving in three years. On average, the number of new hires has been declining by nearly 20 percent each year.

During the period, 223 public organizations reduced new hiring, while 17 maintained their hiring levels. Only 99 organizations increased hiring. As of the third quarter of 2024, 96 organizations increased hiring year-on-year.