Seoul, South Korea - Amid ongoing protests by thousands of trainee doctors, the presidential office on Wednesday urged for the nomination of a new representative body that can more accurately reflect the medical community's varied perspectives.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the government has made multiple appeals for an alternative to the Korean Medical Association (KMA), critiquing its claim to fully represent the medical sector. The official highlighted difficulties in engaging in effective dialogue due to the diverse stances within the medical community, including differences among large and small hospitals, trainee doctors, medical students, and senior physicians. The call for a new dialogue partner comes as the KMA faces criticism for its representation and as the government dismisses a counterproposal from an association of medical school deans, which suggested increasing the enrollment quota by 350 instead of the 2,000 seats proposed by the government. The official emphasized that decisions regarding the health sector workforce fall under government jurisdiction, as per the Constitution and law.