The doctors say the government needs to address a wider range of challenges facing the healthcare system than just the total number of doctors trained per year. Their concerns include staffing in specific fields and the price the government pays for essential medical treatments as well as establishing a proper infrastructure for educating large numbers of new medical students.
Meanwhile, as the population rapidly ages, the number of elderly facilities has boomed from 76,000 in 2017 to 89,643 in 2022, according to the country’s health and welfare ministry. Compounding the challenge, South Korea has the world’s lowest birth rate, which has been falling continuously since 2015. On Tuesday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said his government would not back down on its plans.