40% of Koreans think government should not increase medical students by 2000 next year

Four out of 10 Korean people sympathize with canceling the government's plan to increase the medical school enrollment quota by 2,000 for 2025, according to a survey.

On Tuesday, the Korea Epilepsy Society announced the results of a public opinion poll on healthcare policy it commissioned on Realmeter. The poll surveyed 2,000 men and women aged 18 and over nationwide using a random-digit-dialing (RDD) method (wired and wireless) from Oct. 18 to 21.

According to the survey, 39.4 percent (788 of the 2,000 respondents) agreed that the government's plan to increase the number of medical school students for the class of 2025 should be canceled. Some 48.3 percent (966) agreed that the government should proceed with the finalized plan, while 12.4 percent (248) said they didn't know.

Of the 966 respondents who agreed with the finalized plan, the most common reason for disagreeing with withdrawing the medical school enrollment increase was to address medical disparities between regions 36.9. This was followed by the need to “solve the shortage of doctors” (24.4 percent), to eliminate professional self-interest (20.3 percent), to address the shortage of essential medical specialists (14.7 percent), and to increase opportunities for medical school admission (2.5 percent). The remaining 1.2 percent cited other reasons or said they didn't know.

The majority of respondents, or 62.9 percent (1,258 respondents), said there is a shortage of doctors in Korea, followed by 20.4 percent (408) who said “so-so” and 16.7 percent (334) who said there are sufficient doctors.

More than 58.4 percent (1,168 respondents) favored increasing the number of medical school seats. 33.1 percent (662) were opposed, and 8.5 percent (170) were “unsure”.

When the 1,168 respondents who favored increasing the number of medical school students were asked about their preferred size of the increase, 26.9 percent said from 500 to 1,000. This was followed by less than 500 (20.6 percent), more than 2,000 (19.2 percent), from 1,000 to 1,500 (18.0 percent), and from 1,500 to 2,000 (15.3 percent).

Respondents were more sympathetic to the argument that physicians who left their training hospitals because of the government-doctor conflict should return. A majority of respondents, 68.5 percent, agreed with medical residents’ returning to their training hospitals, compared to 25.1 percent who disagreed and 6.4 percent who remained unsure.

“The public has heard arguments from the medical community and the government repeatedly over the past eight months so that they can make the most neutral and rational judgments,” Dr. Hong Seung-bong, president of the Korean Epilepsy Society, said.

Hong urged the government, trainee doctors, medical students, physician organizations, and the ruling and opposition parties to follow the people's will and make concessions to save the seriously ill patients who are suffering the most from the medical crisis.