Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Thursday the government respects a court’s ruling in favor of its plan to increase the nationwide medical school admission quota and urged striking doctors to return to hospitals.
Earlier in the day, the Seoul High Court rejected an injunction filed by the doctors’ community to suspend the plan to substantially raise the country’s medical school enrollment quota by 2,000 next year, from the current cap of 3,058.
“We deeply appreciate the wise judgment of the judiciary,” Han said in a televised national address, emphasizing that the decision helped the government overcome a major crisis in its medical reform drive.
However, the ruling is not final, as a lawyer representing the doctors said they will immediately appeal the decision to the country’s top court.
Han reiterated that the government would expedite the process of reflecting the increased medical quotas in universities’ 2025 admission announcements as soon as possible.
In March, the government allocated an addition
al 2,000 medical school admission seats to universities, many of them to schools outside the greater Seoul area, despite trainee doctors collectively walking off their duties at major general hospitals in protest.
In solidarity with medical interns and residents, medical professors at major general hospitals nationwide have joined the movement, paralyzing the country’s medical system for months.
Han once again urged the medical community to return to their workplaces and resume talks with the government regarding the medical reform plan.
“In accordance with the decision of the judiciary and the will of the people, we urge (doctors) to stop collective action and return to the hospitals,” Han said.
Source: Yonhap News Agency