President vows to stay the course on agenda to reform healthcare

SEOUL Long overdue medical reforms are "absolutely necessary" to sustain South Korea's excellent medical services, says South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol of the government's prolonged standoff with doctors over the issue.

-  Wendy Teo

In an exclusive interview with The Straits Times, he described South Korea's healthcare system as "among the best in the world" and vowed to stay the course on his reform agenda as he approaches the midpoint of his five-year tenure in November.

After the South Korean government announced in early February its plan to increase the annual intake of medical school students by 2,000 from the current quota of 3,058, about 12,000 junior doctors - who have complained about being overworked and underpaid walked off their jobs. Some senior doctors followed suit, while medical students boycotted lessons.

South Korea will become a super-aged society in 2025, with the number of people aged 65 or older projected to hit 10 million by that year.

"This means an explosive increase in medical needs," said Mr Yoon in written replies to questions from ST. "It is patently obvious that more doctors, nurses and caregivers are needed to respond to this demand." Pointing out that it will take at least a decade to fully educate and train medical doctors, he noted that the country's medical school quota has not been adjusted in 30 years despite "significant increases" in income level and the elderly population.