Seoul: A year has passed since the South Korean government's controversial decision to increase medical school enrollment by 2,000 students, yet the conflict between the medical community and the administration remains unresolved as the new academic term begins. The government's initiative, aimed at addressing a shortage of doctors, has instead led to significant disruptions, including a mass exodus of medical residents from training hospitals and a collective leave of absence by medical students.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the repercussions of this policy have been severe. In January, only 269 candidates passed the national medical licensing exam, a stark decrease from the 3,081 who qualified the previous year, representing a mere 8.7 percent pass rate. Similarly, the number of doctors passing specialty board exams plummeted from 2,727 last year to just 509 this year.
The collective resignation of medical residents has severely impacted hospital operations. As of February 14, only 1,174 of the 13,531 residents, or 8.7 percent, at 211 training hospitals had returned to work. This has led to significant strain on medical staff and disruptions in patient care. Notably, the National Medical Center in Seoul, the city's only regional trauma center, recently suspended emergency surgeries due to a shortage of anesthesiologists.
Large hospitals, typically responsible for handling critical cases, are struggling, leading to preventable deaths. Analysts estimate that between February and July of the previous year, over 3,000 excess deaths occurred due to the medical crisis. Meanwhile, more than 3 trillion won ($2.3 billion) has been expended from government, health insurance, and local government funds to support struggling hospitals and maintain essential medical services. This marks a challenging one-year report card for Yoon Suk Yeol's administration's medical school expansion policy.
The crisis persists, with most medical students who took leave in protest of last year's expansion plan yet to return. Even the 4,567 new students admitted, including the additional 1,509 allocated seats, face uncertainty about attending classes. Against this backdrop, Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Lee Ju-ho has reportedly proposed freezing medical school enrollment at pre-expansion levels, contingent on the return of medical residents and students. Such a move would be a tacit admission of policy failure, prompting criticism from the Ministry of Health and Welfare and other government officials.
Nevertheless, reversing the enrollment increase may be a necessary first step to resolve the impasse. With the ongoing exodus of medical professionals, pushing forward with another expansion next year would be reckless. The 3,058 students admitted for the 2024 academic year have received minimal education, and adding 4,567 next year would overwhelm medical schools. Training more than 7,600 students simultaneously, especially in a field where competency is crucial, is unfeasible.
Deans of all 40 medical schools nationwide have urged Minister Lee to freeze next year's enrollment. While this alone will not solve all issues, it remains the most realistic option to prioritize restoring normalcy to medical education, with broader discussions to follow.