83% of Koreans favor establishing public medical schools: survey

President Lee Jae Myung's campaign pledge to establish a public medical school is supported by 83 percent of Koreans, according to a new poll.

The Korean Health and Medical Workers’ Union (KHMU) said Monday that it is necessary to increase the number of doctors after releasing the “Public Opinion Survey on Healthcare Manpower Expansion and New Government Policy Issues.”

The union commissioned the survey to polling firm Southernpost, which conducted the poll last Tuesday and Wednesday on 1,010 men and women aged 19 and over nationwide.

The survey results showed that the government should prioritize addressing regional disparities in healthcare workforce policies, increasing the number of doctors, and improving their working conditions and treatment.

To solve the shortage of hospital workforce, the government should focus on addressing the imbalance of medical workforce between regions (39.5 percent), increasing the number of doctors by expanding the medical school enrollment quota (36.3 percent), and improving the working environment and treatment of medical workers, including nurses, nursing assistants, and medical technicians (21.5 percent).

Notably, 34.0 percent of respondents in Seoul said they must increase the number of doctors.

Some 83.1 percent were in favor of establishing public medical schools to expand the physician workforce and improve the training system. The same share of respondents also agreed that the government should take responsibility for the shortage of doctors in public hospitals and their financial problems ("good deficit"). This reflects the union's recognition that the government needs to take responsibility for strengthening public healthcare.

“Public hospitals, which protected people's lives on the front lines of Covid-19, are facing a crisis of medical collapse and wage arrears due to a shortage of doctors and a large deficit,” the union said. “The new government should take fundamental measures to expand the number of doctors in public hospitals and resolve the deficit, not just short-term steps.”

During his election campaign, President Lee pledged to build public medical schools to expand the physician workforce. At the time, he promised to establish public medical schools in Incheon, as well as in South and North Jeolla Province, and a private medical school in North Gyeongsang Province.