Asan Medical Center professors, Ulsan medical students urge halt to 2025 medical student quota increase

Professors and resigned trainee doctors at Asan Medical Center and students at its affiliated University of Ulsan College of Medicine called for the government and the National Assembly to halt the recruitment process for new medical students for the class of 2025.

They also criticized the university presidents for refusing to talk.

The medical college faculty’s emergency committee resigned trainee doctors, and students made the call at a news conference at the main gate of Asan Medical Center in Seoul on Wednesday.

“If university presidents sit and watch the government’s increase of the medical school enrollment quota, they are also traitors,” the protestors said, chanting slogans like “stop declaring martial law without a plan,” “stop expanding the medical school without any basis,” and “stop the stubborn medical student increase.”

In a statement, the University of Ulsan College of Medicine said, “Yoon's plan to increase the medical school's capacity by 2,000 students for the class of 2025 is illegal, null and void. The insurrection head, Yoon Suk Yeol, has been impeached. Still, Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho and Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyoo-hong are doing nothing. They should be dismissed immediately as accomplices.”

The protesters also said medical schools are not equipped to teach more students.

“Most medical schools are not prepared to teach the increased number of new students. Given the national economic crisis, this will remain difficult even beyond next year,” they said. “If things go on like this, abnormal education and training will continue into the next decade, when these students will receive training in their specialties.”

“Considering the situation of next year's first-year medical students, which will increase due to large-scale leave of absence this year, it is the right decision to drastically reduce the number of selections or not select at all,” they said. “To not violate the pre-announcement system under the Higher Education Act, the number of new medical students in 2025 should be 3,058 as before.”

“If the 2025 admissions process is completed like now, the number of medical students admitted to the 2026 medical school should be zero,” they said. “The National Assembly and the government should stop the ongoing medical school entrance selection process and discuss with the presidents, deans, and professors of medical schools to prepare and implement measures to reduce the number of students.”

“Jang Sang-yoon, senior presidential secretary for social affairs, Education Minister Lee Ju-ho, Health and Welfare Minister Cho Kyoo-hong, and Vice Minister Park Min-soo must act knowing that this is the last chance to prove that they are not accomplices in the medical crisis caused by Yoon Suk Yeol,” the statement said. “Medical professors will remember you forever.”

The professors who attended the news also appealed to “stop the medical martial law.”

“The emergency martial law was lifted in three hours, but the medical martial law has been in place for 10 months since February,” said Choi Se-hoon, a cardiovascular and thoracic surgery professor. “In this state, doctors and students cannot return for fear of being punished. We cannot avoid the collapse of essential and regional healthcare as it is. Just as the people overthrew the emergency martial law, they should also defeat the medical martial law in place since February.”

Professor Lee Deok-hee of the Department of Radiology called for attention to the medical field.

“The emergency martial law and impeachment process revealed that a rule of thumb conducted our country's state affairs,” Professor Lee said. “Currently, attention is focused elsewhere, but please pay attention to the demand for medical normalization at least once. The future of our medical care is impossible without the normalization of medical education.”

Professor Ko Beom-seok, a breast surgeon, also said, “It's very frustrating to think about next year, but the government is doing nothing. However, we will fight tirelessly to normalize healthcare.”

Choi Chang-min, chairman of the emergency committee of the Medical Professors Association of Korea, said the government should take action to stop the recruitment process for new medical students in 2025.

“The government's stance is that there is no way to do anything about it,” Choi said. “There are many ways to stop the recruitment process. However, the government is holding on with the logic of, ‘What can we do now that we've recruited everyone?’ However, if the new students are selected (as planned), it will be a disaster next year.”

Choi added that university presidents refuse to negotiate, so the ministry should take responsibility and solve the problem.

“Whenever there is a problem, the Ministry of Education referred it to the ‘Council of Presidents for the Advancement of Medical Universities,” he said. “We continued offering the council for dialogue but were turned down. After all, it is difficult to solve the problem if the ministry does not issue guidelines. Minister Lee should take responsibility and resolve it.”