Gov’t pledges to accomplish medical reform

The government is determined to accomplish medical reform, a senior official said Friday, although a prolonged walkout by trainee doctors has disrupted public health services at major hospitals for more than six weeks. Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo made the remarks at a government response meeting, a day after President Yoon Suk Yeol met a leader of a group of trainee doctors. It was their first meeting since trainee doctors left their worksites on Feb. 20 to protest the government's plan to increase medical school admissions by 2,000 seats starting next year, but there were little signs of a breakthrough. "The government is determined to accomplish medical reform in a flexible, inclusive, but unwavering manner that upholds principles," Park said. Park also called for trainee doctors to end their walkout and continue talks with the government over medical reform. Prospects for a breakthrough over the standoff remain uncertain as the government has shown little sign of reducing the size of the increased medical school admission quota. Adding to the complexity over the standoff, the government has already allocated the admission quota to universities. Source: Yonhap News Agency