As government-doctor conflict enters 2nd year, calls mount for ‘cleaning up the spill’ first

Thursday marked one year since the government announced it would increase the medical school enrollment quota by 2,000 for the 2025 academic year.

medical community, which tried but failed to nullify the 2025 enrollment quota increase and rediscuss it from the ground up, faces a quota increase for 2026.

The government has decided to fix the 2026 quota increase within this month and calls for a dialog to resolve the protracted government-doctor conflict.

However, the medical community believes that such an “attitude” of the government has led to the current situation.

It said that unless the government corrects “fundamental problems” that initially caused the unilateral push for the 2025 enrollment quota increase and deteriorated its relationship with the medical community, the yearlong conflict could meet its “second anniversary” a year from now.

“There are no logical grounds that the enrollment quota should also be increased for the 2026 academic year. There is also no consensus within the medical community or the public. The government says it wants to communicate with the medical community but ignores our concern about medical education this year,” a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at a medical school in the Seoul metro region told Korea Biomedical Review over the phone on Wednesday while requesting anonymity.

The government's basic attitude is still the same as when it announced the quota increase for the 2025 academic year a year ago. At this rate, this year will be no different from last year, the professor added.

Professor Kang Hee-gyung of the Department of Pediatric Nephrology at Seoul National University Hospital, who served as its faculty’s emergency committee, said, “Regardless of the number of students to be increased or reduced, the basic problem is the government's attitude in handling the policy. If this is not fixed, the situation is bound to repeat itself.”

Professor Kang added that the government must conduct the dialog and discussion with the medical community transparently. If it continues to make unilateral announcements while hiding everything, like now, it is like admitting that it has no basis or justification to demand the increase.

Professor Hong Jong-won of the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Yonsei University College of Medicine, who has trained junior doctors at academic societies and hospitals, said, “There is no unified opinion or channel that should be established to deal with the issue of quota increase. In this case, the government has eliminated a healthy forum for doctors to sit down and discuss healthcare policy.”

Professor Hong continued, “Although the government has softened its aggressive stance, I can feel that it is not even considering the alternative of adjusting the number to a reasonable level, let alone canceling the increase demanded by the medical community. As things stand now, any decision will not be welcomed.”

The professors called for a follow-up plan for the 2025 quota increase, saying the government must cooperate to “clear up the water that has already been spilled properly if it cannot recover it.”

“Only after we clean up the spill can we talk about what comes next,” Hong said. “It's not easy to clean up the water and simultaneously put new dishes on the table.”

Professor Kang, the pediatric nephrologist, said, “First of all, we must think about how to educate the new and returning students in the class of 2025. We must discuss quota increases, normalizing medical fees, resolving judicial risks, and improving the medical delivery system.”

The anonymous ob-gyn professor at a greater Seoul area hospital also said, “We should start with concrete measures for medical education this year. That will help us gauge whether the government has the will to grasp and resolve the current situation.”