Second round of talks between PPP, gov't and doctors ends without agreement

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Second round of talks between PPP, gov't and doctors ends without agreement

Published: 18 Nov. 2024, 12:15

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, second from left, and other representatives of a consultative body on a doctors' walkout attend the second meeting of the three-way body consisting of the ruling People Power Party, the government and doctors' groups at the National Assembly in Seoul on Sunday. [YONHAP]

A consultative body involving the ruling People Power Party (PPP), the government and doctors' groups held their second round of talks Sunday but failed to narrow their differences as they looked to resolve a prolonged walkout by trainee doctors.

Thousands of trainee doctors have left their workplaces in a mass resignation since February to protest the government's decision to sharply raise the medical school quota, causing major disruptions to the national health care service.

In a press briefing after the meeting held at the National Assembly, PPP spokesperson Han Zeea said the medical community and the government remained at an impasse over the admission quotas for both next year and 2026 at the meeting.

The medical community has demanded that the government revise the hike in the medical school quota from scratch, but the government has refused to adjust the 2025 quota and instead said it would revisit the quota hike plan for 2026 and beyond.

The consultative body was launched last week without participation from opposition parties.

From the medical community, one group of medical school deans and another group representing medical researchers joined the body. However, the group for junior doctors and the Korea Medical Association, Korea's largest group of doctors, have boycotted the initiative.

Yonhap