당정 "의대 정원 10년간 4천 명 증원…3천 명 지역복무"<br /><br />COVID-19 has put unprecedented stress on South Korea's health system.<br />To help the country better prepare for any future pandemics, the South Korean government and the ruling party have proposed increasing the annual admissions quota at medical schools.<br />Some 4-hundred additional students a year will be admitted to medical schools for 10 years starting 2022.<br />Lee Kyung-eun reports.<br />South Korea plans to train 4-thousand extra medical students by 2032 in a bid to ramp up its health service.<br />It will be done over the course of 10 years starting in 2022, with some 4-hundred additional students a year entering medical schools.<br />That would make a total of 3-thousand-4-hundred-58 medical students each year.<br />This is what the ruling Democratic Party said, announcing the plan on Thursday, along with the government.<br />"The outbreak has revealed the limitation of the country's overall medical system. Medical staff are out there protecting people's lives, but we cannot depend on them forever."<br />Three-quarters of all the new students will be admitted through the so-called regional doctor system.<br />It's a full-scholarship program,...which in turn, requires them to practice in provincial areas in fields dealing with severe diseases.<br />This is to ensure a quality health care service in those regions.<br />"The regional gap in medical care between the capital and provinces has reached a serious level in terms of medical institutions and personnel."<br />Some 5-hundred students will be trained as epidemiologists, pediatricians, and other specialists.<br />And another 5-hundred will become researchers in bio-science, pharmaceuticals and basic science.<br />The officials have also agreed to open public medical schools in regions that don't have a school.<br />Based on this, the education ministry will announced related policies and guidelines on entrance exams in the coming months.<br />"This will be the first time South Korea has increased its admissions quota for medical schools since 1997.<br />And given the urgency of the matter, the ruling party has called for cooperation from the opposition to swiftly pass the law.<br />Lee Kyung-eun, Arirang News."<br />
