Medical schools under fire for poor conditions ahead of 2025 student surge

A medical school in Seoul (Yonhap)

The poor condition of regional medical schools came under fire during Thursday's parliamentary audit at the National Assembly, just five months ahead of the start of the 2025 school year which will see a sharp rise in medical students.

While several medical schools will have as many as twice or more medical students next year, Rep. Bak Seung-a of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea pointed out during the session held Thursday afternoon that the quota hike may not be feasible without proper support and resources in place.

"I visited Kyungpook National University's School of Medicine and concluded that it was impossible to accommodate students and educate them," he said.

Kyungpook National University will have 155 students next year, 45 more than the current quota of 110, as part of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's efforts to strengthen regional health care services.

Rep. Park Seong-jun of the same party also said that the Kyungpook National University Hospital "looked like it was from the 1970s and 1980s," implying that the facilities are not up to current medical education and training standards.

"I thought I was seeing ghosts when I went to the cadaver lab," Rep. Park said, suggesting that the infrastructure seemed alarming.

Rep. Seo Ji-young of the ruling People Power Party echoed that she felt the hospital had "allowed its facilities to deteriorate" despite its role as a primary provider of medical services in Daegu and South Gyeongsang province.

Amid the criticism, Hong Won-hwa, the president of Kyungpook National University, said the school will have 44 additional medical professors from the current 160 and plans to invest 110 billion won ($80.24 million) to upgrade the college's facilities.

Jeong Jae-yeon, the president of Kangwon National University, also promised that improvements would be made at the hospital when medical students begin clinical education in two or three years when asked how the school would enhance the quality of medical education.