Medical school professors ask President Lee: "Pause the decision on increasing medical school enrollment for four weeks"

[Financial News] The National Association of Medical School Professors (NAMS) on the 3rd sent an urgent open letter to the Office of the President ahead of the deadline to finalize the 2027 medical school enrollment quota.
The professors said the government is pushing discussions on expanding enrollment in a "speed race" and appealed for time to pause the process and scientifically verify the actual capacity of medical schools to absorb more students.
In the letter to the president, NAMS wrote, "Policies on medical education, which are directly linked to the lives and health of the public, must be preceded by verification of feasibility in the field," adding, "We express deep concern over information that a hasty decision on enrollment quotas may be made at today’s State Council meeting and at the Health and Medical Policy Deliberation Committee (known by its Korean acronym, Bojeongsim) scheduled for the 6th."
The professors asked the president to grant "at least a four-week postponement of the decision." They argued that this is the minimum time needed for the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, along with other relevant ministries, to prepare and disclose verification data that can guarantee the quality of medical education.
According to the letter, the professors pointed out in particular that the biggest variables currently affecting medical schools—students on leave of absence, those who repeated a year, and those returning to school—are not yet accurately reflected in the 2025 statistics.
NAMS criticized that "deciding on expansion scenarios for 2027 to 2031 based on the uncertain statistics available at this point would undermine trust in the policy itself."
The association went beyond simply asking for a delay and urged the president to instruct government ministries to disclose concrete data.
Their demands included: calculating the number of full-time faculty required under each annual expansion scenario; measures to ensure compliance with standards for patient contact during clinical training; and an assessment and expansion plan for the capacity to train medical residents.
Separately from the expansion debate, they also called for the government to release a "firm timetable" for when measures to fill gaps in essential medical services—such as stronger compensation for essential care and easing the burden of medical malpractice—will actually be implemented.
NAMS made clear that the letter is not intended to derail the expansion itself. "We do not deny the need to discuss medical school enrollment quotas," they said, but warned that "if overloaded, 'overpacked' education is pushed through without deliberation and verification, it will not only degrade the quality of education but ultimately become a risk that threatens patient safety."
They concluded the letter by saying, "We earnestly ask the president to personally coordinate the process so that policy-making proceeds through verifiable and accountable procedures befitting the status of the Republic of Korea."

vrdw88@fnnews.com Kang Jung-mo Reporter