SEOUL: The defense ministry is considering establishing a medical school to train doctors who would serve in the military for at least 10 years, a ministry official said Thursday, amid a prolonged walkout by junior doctors protesting the medical school quota hike.
The military has long been struggling to acquire doctors who sign up for the long-term service of 10 years, compared with the short-term three-year service. South Korea, which requires all able-bodied men to serve in the military, offers male doctors the option to serve as medical officers.
“The defense ministry is making various efforts to improve the military medical system and strengthen treatment capabilities,” the official said. “Various measures are being considered to acquire long-term service medical doctors, including the defense medical school.”
The number of applicants for the long-term service has remained in single digits for the past 10 years, and there were no applicants last year, amid calls for improvements in wages and service conditions.
As of last July, only 7.7 percent of some 2,400 military doctors nationwide were long-term service officers.
While the ministry has pushed for ways to increase the number of long-term service applicants, the possible creation of the medical school appears to reflect a need to stably ensure the number of long-term military doctors.
The move comes amid the broader government’s push to sharply increase medical school admissions next year, which has met fierce resistance from doctors nationwide, including the ongoing walkout by thousands of trainee doctors since February.
