More medical students choose active-duty service amid government-doctor standoff

Since the conflict between the medical community and the government began in February 2024, more than 3,000 medical students have chosen to enlist as active-duty soldiers or social service personnel, rather than serving as public health doctors or military medics, according to a report.

In Korea, male medical students are required to fulfill their mandatory military service. Traditionally, many have done so by working as public health doctors in rural clinics or as short-term military doctors in military hospitals. This alternative service typically lasts 38 months.

However, that trend is changing.

The Korean Association of Public Health Doctors (KAPHD) said Wednesday that 434 medical students enlisted in May alone, bringing the total number of medical student enlistments to 3,375 since February 2024, according to data from the Military Manpower Administration.

Of the May enlistees, 399 joined as active-duty soldiers and 35 as social service personnel. The number of enlistments from January to May reached 1,838—already surpassing last year’s full-year total of 1,537.

“The number of male students who have enlisted since the government-doctor conflict began is comparable to the entire annual intake of medical students in a certain year,” the association said.

The KAPHD called for reducing the current 38-month service period for public health doctors and improving their working conditions. It also criticized the Ministry of National Defense for its lack of urgency in addressing the situation.

“The system of public health doctors and short-term military doctors is a realistic and proven policy that has long helped bridge gaps in public and military medical care,” said KAPHD President Lee Sung-hwan. “Assuming this system can simply be replaced by establishing a medical academy is shortsighted.”

Lee urged the Ministry of National Defense to take a more proactive role in system reform, citing its impact on frontline healthcare services and the public’s right to health.