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| ▲ The ruling People Power Party's floor leader, Rep. Yun Jae-ok (C), is seen at the National Assembly in Seoul, walking with other party members to attend a party meeting on Oct. 20, 2023. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ Rep. Kim Woni (C) from the main opposition Democratic Party holds a picket calling for the establishment of state-funded medical schools in South Jeolla Province, while his head is being shaved, on Oct. 18, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap) |
PPP-medical school quota
PPP launches new task force to improve S. Korea's medical services
By Kang Jae-eun
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- The ruling People Power Party (PPP) said Friday it will launch a task force to discuss policy measures to improve medical services, and support the government's commitment to increasing the enrollment quota of medical schools.
The team -- which is composed of PPP lawmakers, doctors, experts and regular citizens -- aims to find solutions to pending issues, particularly regarding South Korea's shortage of doctors in essential medical fields, such as pediatrics and emergency care, PPP's floor leader Yun Jae-ok said.
"We designated innovating local and essential medical services as one of our livelihood-related policies, and will focus all of the party's capabilities on the matter," he said.
The task force will also play an active role in coordinating opinions with doctors' groups, opposition parties and other stakeholders in South Korea's health care sector through policy consultations, said the party's chief policymaker, Rep. Yu Eui-dong.
The PPP's new task force comes amid the government reportedly seeking to raise the annual enrollment quota at medical schools by more than 1,000 from the current 3,058, starting in 2025, to address shortages of doctors in key medical services and in provincial areas.
On Thursday, President Yoon Suk Yeol voiced his commitment to the plan, saying expanding medical personnel is one of the "necessary conditions" to improve the country's medical system and prepare for a super-aged society.
In a rare show of unity, the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) has welcomed the plan. But argued the government should allocate the extra quota to non-capital regions by building public medical schools there.
Four DP lawmakers representing South Jeolla Province, 290 kilometers south of Seoul, have requested the government build new state-funded medical schools in their region, and shaved their heads in a show of commitment to the cause.
South Korea has 5.6 doctors per 1,000 people, according to the health ministry, which is far below the average of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member nations.
Doctors, however, have fiercely opposed the plan, saying the government should instead explore ways to better allocate physicians and boost compensation.
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