Yoon doubles down on 2,000-seat hike in med schools in public address

President Yoon Suk Yeol makes an address to the nation on his government's medical reform plans

amid a clash with doctors' groups at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, Monday.

[PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

President Yoon Suk Yeol makes an address to the nation on his government's medical reform plans

amid a clash with doctors' groups at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, Monday.

[PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

President Yoon Suk Yeol underscored that a hike of 2,000 seats in the medical school enrollment

quota next year was an irrefutable necessity in a public address Monday while apologizing to the

people for inconveniencing them in the clash between the government and doctors' groups.

"As president, I feel sorry for not being able to resolve the inconveniences of the people quickly,"

Yoon said in the televised address to the nation on his administration's medical reform plans from

the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul.

Related Article

Doctors reduce hours, cutting back surgeries and outpatient service

Gov't to respond to ILO concerning back-to-work orders for junior doctors

Hospitals close wards, go into debt after junior doctors’ walkout

Newly elected doctors' group chief urges Yoon to 'directly' talk with trainees

This comes as the government plans to drastically increase medical school enrollment to address

the nation's shortage of doctors, especially in rural areas and less popular fields. This policy has

been met with major pushback from medical professionals in the past weeks, resulting in nationwide

walkouts by junior doctors, inconveniencing patients.

Regarding the ongoing conflict with the medical community, Yoon stressed that the 2,000 increase

in medical students is a carefully calculated figure, taking into consideration an expected shortage

of some 15,000 doctors by 2035.

He shot back at critics who called a hike of 2,000 seats "excessive" and a unilateral move by the

government.

"The government's medical reform is to strengthen essential and local health care to create a

medical environment where all people can receive treatment with peace of mind," Yoon said. "For

this, we need more doctors."

Yoon said that "2,000 seats is not just a number," adding that "the government reviewed all statistics

and research and carefully reviewed the current and future situations."
He pointed out it takes around 10 years to train a new doctor fully.

Yoon noted that there are currently 115,000 doctors in the country, and if the number starts to

increase by 2,000 annually for the next decade, it will increase by 20,000 after 20 years.

He said that 2,000 "is a minimum increase the government came up with through thorough

calculations" and also followed a series of discussions with the medical community, including

doctors' groups.

"How uncomfortable and anxious everyone must be because of the continued collective actions of

the trainee doctor?" Yoon said. "I would like to express my gratitude to the people willing to endure

the inconveniences and support the government's medical reform despite this difficult situation."

He noted that doctors' groups have been "making threats" through their ongoing collective actions.

"If a more valid and reasonable plan is brought forward, we can discuss it as much as they want,"

he said, offering dialogue to the medical community.

However, he said that if the medical community wants to continue to insist on a reduction from the

2,000-seat hike, it should be ready to "present a unified plan to the government with solid scientific

evidence, rather than collective action."

He then called for "an immediate halt to the illegal collective action" and stressed that doctors

would not be able to block the process of forming "legitimate" policies without proper grounds.

"We will make huge investments to make our medicine and the medical industry the most

competitive in the world," Yoon said, addressing the striking junior doctors. "If you are going to

take collective action, do it not while opposing the increase in medical personnel, but when I do

not keep my promises."

Yoon last gave a televised public address last November, when he apologized to the nation after

Busan failed to win the bid to host the 2030 World Expo.