Medical professors to file constitutional petition over doctor quota hike

Medical professors plan to file a constitutional appeal over the government’s decision to raise medical school admissions, claiming the increase violates their basic rights, officials said Friday.

The Medical Professors Association of Korea is scheduled to file the petition with the Constitutional Court before the April 10 general elections against the government’s plan to raise the number of medical students by 2,000 starting next year from the current 3,058 seats to address a shortage of doctors.

The plan has caused a massive walkout by junior doctors since Feb. 20, as well as major disruptions to the country’s medical service.

The professors’ association earlier filed an appeal with the Seoul Administration Court seeking the suspension of the government’s execution of the plan, but the court dismissed the case without deliberation.

“The government’s exercise of authority to raise the admissions by 2,000 violates the basic rights of professors, including their autonomy of education,” a lawyer of the group said.

“Following the dismissal, we cannot expect any redemption of our rights by lower courts so we are entitled to bring the case to the Constitutional Court. We will file the petition before the elections next week,” he added.

The association also plans to apply for a court injunction this month before the government announces detailed plans and requirements about college entrance next year.

The government and doctors have not been able to find a breakthrough, as doctors have called for scrapping the plan, while the government has said a hike of 2,000 is the minimum.

In support of the junior doctors’ collective action, medical school professors nationwide began submitting their resignations.

The professors, who serve as senior doctors at major hospitals, have also reduced their weekly work hours to 52 hours by adjusting surgeries and other medical treatments and minimized medical services for outpatients.

The country is experiencing a shortage of doctors, particularly in rural areas and essential medical fields, such as high-risk surgeries, pediatrics, obstetrics and emergency medicine.

Given the rapid population aging and other issues, South Korea is also expected to fall short of 15,000 doctors by 2035, according to the health ministry.

But doctors argue that the quota hikes would compromise the quality of medical education and services and create a surplus of physicians. They demanded that the government devise ways of better protecting them from malpractice suits and extending compensation to induce more physicians to practice in such “unpopular” areas.