Ahn Cheol-soo Sounds Alarm: 2026 Garden Discussion a Non-Starter, Urges One-Year Delay in 2025 Increase
People Power Party Representative Criticizes Government’s Stance on Medical School Enrollment Quota
As the Blue House announced its intention to form a bipartisan consultative body and re-discuss the 2026 medical school enrollment quota from scratch, criticism is emerging within the ruling party.
People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo expressed his concerns on his personal Facebook page, stating that the current discussion on the 2026 medical school enrollment quota cannot be an alternative solution.
Ahn emphasized the urgency of the situation, explaining that medical students and residents are not returning, which will lead to a shortage of interns, public health doctors, and military doctors next year. He questioned whether the government is preparing an alternative plan to address this issue.
The Office of the President recently stated that it is impossible to scrap the plan to increase the number of medical schools in 2025 and 2026, which the medical community set as a prerequisite for participation in the ‘ruling and opposition party consultative body.’
The Office of the President explained that the admissions process for the 2025 school year is already underway, making it impossible to re-discuss next year’s medical school quota. Canceling the plan to increase the number of medical school students at this stage would cause significant confusion among test takers.
Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the ruling People Power Party, also voiced his opposition to the presidential office’s rejection of the medical community’s proposal. He criticized the government and the ruling party for their stubbornness, emphasizing that the only way to prevent the collapse of the Korean medical system is to postpone the increase by one year and create a public opinion committee.