President Yoon Suk Yeol met Park Dan, head of the Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA), Thursday, to explore ways to address the months-long walkout by junior doctors in protest against the government’s push to increase the number of medical students.However, the meeting evidently concluded with the government and trainee doctors acknowledging their differences, as Park left comments implying that no progress had been made toward ending the standoff.According to presidential spokesperson Kim Soo-kyung, Yoon and Park engaged in discussions from 2 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. during their closed-door talks concerning the government’s proposal to raise the current annual admissions quota of medical schools by 2,000, resulting in a total of 5,058 slots.The spokesperson also said in a brief text message to reporters, “Park delivered trainee doctors’ opinions to the president, especially on the difficult working environment and poor compensation, and Yoon listened carefully.”In another text message, the spokesperson said, “President Yoon decided to respect the position of trainee doctors when the government consults with the medical community over reforms, including the quota expansion.”
During their meeting, Yoon reportedly asserted the necessity of increasing the number of doctors in the country, while Park reiterated demands by trainee doctors to scrap the policy.The meeting came two days after the presidential office said Yoon would like to meet junior doctors for candid conversations without limiting subjects in a bid to end the standoff between the government and doctors, which has left the country’s medical services in a state of disruption for nearly 50 days.Until Wednesday, KIRA did not respond to the offer for talks, while other medical groups, such as the Korean Medical Association (KMA) and the Medical Professors Association of Korea, raised various opinions on whether the trainee doctors’ association should meet Yoon.On Thursday morning, Park sent a message to KIRA’s emergency committee members stating that he would meet Yoon and the meeting “may be worthwhile as we can deliver the stance of junior doctors” before the April 10 general elections.However, he stated that the current medical standoff was triggered by Yoon’s drive to expand the medical school quota, and there will be “no change” in KIRA’s stance that the government should fully scrap the plan. He added any decision will be made through a vote by all KIRA 카지노사이트킹 members.