The ruling and opposition party council, which was launched to resolve legislative conflicts, suspended its activities 20 days after its launch. While the ruling party announced that it had decided to suspend meetings for the time being and take a ‘hiatus’, the medical community expressed its intention to stop participating in the consultative body.
Rep. Lee Man-hee, who participated in the council as a representative of the People Power Party, held a briefing for the 4th meeting of the ruling and opposition party council on the 1st and said, “The medical community has continuously requested a change in the number of medical school quotas for 2025. Though,this is a request that is realistically tough to accept considering that the entrance exam has progressed considerably,” he said.“Considering this situation, the representatives of the ruling and opposition party council decided to suspend official meetings for the time being and take a break.”
However, he added, “Dialog between participating parties, including the medical community, will continue even during the pause.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Joo-ho said, “I think that the government, which has tried to resolve the conflict through dialogue, has had time to take a break and reorganize the ruling and opposition party council, which has been busy with intense discussions.”
Deputy Prime Minister Lee made it clear that there is no possibility of adjusting the medical school admission quota for the 2025 school year. He said, “It is impossible for the government to take any action that would cause confusion while the entrance exam is currently in progress because it will place a huge burden on the test takers and the educational field.”
Unlike the government and the ruling party’s emphasis on a ‘pause’, the medical community announced that it will stop participating in the consultative body.Lee Jin-woo, president of the Korean Medical Association, said on this day, “Further discussions are meaningless, and now that we have confirmed that the government and the ruling party have no will to resolve this situation, the Korean Medical Association and the Korean Association of Medical Colleges and Graduate Schools of Medicine (Association of Medical Schools, KAMC) are forming a consultative body.” “I have had to make the terrible decision to stop participating,” he said.
Academy of Medical Sciences, and KAMC participated, was launched on November 11 to discuss ways to resolve the conflict between the medical community and the government surrounding medical reform. The consultative body held four plenary meetings to this day and discussed various conflict situations, but was unable to narrow differences in the issue of medical school seats for the 2025 school year and faced a breakdown just 20 days after its launch.
Kim Hye-rin, Donga.com reporter [email protected]
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