Flynn Murphy , 2025-07-29 15:06:00
South Korea’s new government has restarted talks with junior doctors and medical students, raising hopes for an end to a 17 month impasse over a plan to steeply increase medical school admissions, which drove 90% of Korea’s resident doctors to resign.1
The new consultative body, which includes health ministry and trainee doctors’ representatives, met for their first weekly meeting on 25 July to discuss how to reinstate the thousands of trainee doctors who walked off the job in February 2024.2
The education ministry has also released plans to reintegrate around 8000 medical students who have been on study leave in protest.3 This came after groups representing the students said they were ready to return to their classrooms in a statement released on 12 July and cosigned by the chairs of the Korean parliament’s health and education committees.
“We will place our trust in the government and parliament and commit to returning to school to help normalise medical education and the healthcare system,” the statement said.4
Despite recent progress, observers have said that a swift resolution to …