Photo : YONHAP News
The presidential office, the health ministry and professors from Seoul National University(SNU) College of Medicine held a heated debate on Thursday over the need to expand the medical school admissions quota.
In the debate at SNU College of Medicine, Senior Presidential Secretary for Social Policy Jang Sang-yoon said the quota needs to be increased by two-thousand to revitalize essential medical services and address regional disparities in access.
He stressed that the government, which is charged with managing supply and demand for health care personnel, came up with the two-thousand figure based on scientific evidence.
Kang Hee-hyung, the head of an emergency committee representing professors at SNU College of Medicine and SNU-affiliated hospitals, said the nation’s health care sector has a dark side, including three-minute medical consultations and patients being refused emergency care.
However, she was quick to add that an increase in the number of doctors could lead to a bigger burden on health insurance premiums resulting from higher health care costs.