Trainee doctors expressed deep regret on Wednesday over the government's plan to increase medical school enrollment by an annual average of 668 students over five years starting in 2027, demanding an objective inspection of education and training facilities.
The Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA) issued a statement following an emergency online general assembly, saying "the government has trampled on the last hopes of young doctors."
This marks KIRA's first official response since the government announced its medical school enrollment expansion plan on January 10.
"We are not unconditionally opposed to government policy," KIRA said, while criticizing that "the current situation is like pouring salt on unhealed wounds, and it is clear that trust restoration is becoming increasingly distant."
The association reportedly discussed responses to current healthcare issues at the emergency assembly.
KIRA called for the formation of a "joint inspection team" comprising professors, trainee doctors, and medical students to examine medical education facilities before expanding enrollment. They argued that education facilities are already on the verge of collapse due to "doubling" situations where 2024 and 2025 cohorts attend classes simultaneously, necessitating objective verification through inspection.
"Students are already barely attending classes in auditoriums instead of lecture halls," they said. "Quality physician training is impossible at hospitals that lack capacity to handle large-scale clinical rotations."
The association also demanded reform of the Health and Medical Policy Deliberation Committee's decision-making structure. They argued that while future generations will bear the burden of soaring medical costs and health insurance fiscal pressures, the voices of "youth" and "young field experts" who will shoulder these costs have been excluded from the committee.
However, the statement contained no language suggesting collective action such as resignations.
"Policies decided solely by the political calculations of the established generation, excluding future generations, are not 'reform' but 'exploitation,'" KIRA stated. "We cannot accept discussions that exclude the parties who must bear the burden."
The association added that "all medical policies without 'trust restoration' with young doctors will inevitably fail," noting that "policy success depends on field acceptance."
"Unless the government recognizes young doctors as policy partners and reflects their voices, no glamorous policy can take root in the field," KIRA emphasized. "We urge the government to listen to the voices of young doctors who are protecting medical facilities even during the holiday season."