Following the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's announcement of a 2,000-student increase in medical school enrollment in February 2024, emergency room treatment restrictions surged as trainee doctors resigned.

According to data received by Rep. Kim Sun-min of the Rebuilding Korea Party from the National Medical Center (NMC), the Central Emergency Medical Center recorded 110,033 emergency care restriction messages in 2024, an 88 percent increase from 2023 (58,250 cases).

Notably, messages citing “staff shortage” totaled 43,658 cases, a 132.8 percent jump from 18,750 in 2023, before the mass resignations. As of August this year, before residents returned, the number of confirmed restriction messages had already reached 30,504, surpassing the total for all of 2023.

A closer look at monthly trends shows the turning point. In January last year, before the medical school expansion announcement, staff-shortage notices stood at 1,954, almost flat compared to 1,545 a year earlier. But starting in February—when resignations began after the announcement—the number soared, rising between 60 percent and 230 percent year-on-year.

The prolonged medical crisis fueled burnout among remaining staff, driving the surge in restrictions. Cases rose from 2,694 in February, to over 4,003 in July, and peaked at 4,724 in September. The monthly average for 2024 was 3,791.

“It has been proven that the medical crisis caused by the Yoon administration's irresponsible push to increase medical school enrollment directly led to chaos in emergency rooms, which are vital to saving lives,” Rep. Kim said. “Former President Yoon must be held accountable for this crisis, which is the price of policy failure.”

She noted that the Chuseok holiday is approaching, when ER visits typically spike. Last year, September—including Chuseok—saw the highest number of staff shortage notices.

“Without thorough preparation, we could face utter chaos. Urgent countermeasures are needed,” Kim added.