Medical enrollment dispute continues into new year

[Anchor]

The conflict between the government and the medical community, triggered by the announcement to increase the medical school enrollment by 2,000, has already lasted over ten months.

Doctors have left hospitals, and the suffering of patients continues to accumulate.

With the impeachment situation overlapping, the conflict shows no signs of resolution as it extends into the new year.

Reporter Joo Hyun-ji reports.

[Report]

Ten months ago, the government announced that it would increase the medical school enrollment for the 2025 academic year from over 3,000 to over 5,000, an increase of 2,000.

The medical community strongly opposed this, stating it was a "hasty push without scientific evidence."

More than 12,000 residents at major hospitals submitted their resignations and left, while over 11,000 medical students also left their schools.

The government pressured the residents who did not return by threatening to suspend their licenses, and the police began investigations into the leadership of the medical association.

The conflict escalated further.

Even medical school professors went on strike, demanding the withdrawal of the 2,000 increase.

Due to the medical vacuum, hospitals have reported delays in surgeries, disruptions and refusals in treatment, leading to patient suffering.

[Kim Seon-kyung/Pancreatic cancer stage 4 patient: "The metastasis is in the lungs, liver, thyroid, and then the peritoneum... It was very difficult because the medical strike made it hard to get appointments."]

[Lee Mi-shin/Patient's guardian: "We should be saving lives, right? But with this strike, people like us are left feeling anxious..."]

To resolve the conflict, the National Assembly, government, and medical community formed a consultative body, but discussions were halted after a month when the medical community demanded a reduction in the 2025 medical school enrollment increase.

Amid this, the inclusion of a phrase in the emergency martial law proclamation stating that non-returning residents would be punished caused the medical community to completely turn their backs.

The admissions for the 2025 medical school year have already concluded under the government's enrollment plan, and the regular admissions are currently underway.

The enrollment for the 2025 academic year has become difficult to reverse, and now the focus is on how to handle the enrollment for the 2026 academic year.

In the National Assembly, the opposition is pushing for legislation to reduce the medical school enrollment for the 2026 academic year, but the medical association, facing an upcoming election for a new leadership, is in a non-regular committee system, which has weakened its negotiating power.

Ultimately, the medical community, government, and political sector need to narrow their differences regarding the scale of the increase, but it is expected that resolving the conflict will not be easy in the new year.

KBS News, Joo Hyun-ji.