Anchor: After the government reiterated its calls for medical students to return to their studies, while promising to cut the med school admissions quota to pre-reform levels next year, the Korean Medical Association(KMA) said any future action should be preceded by a public apology from the government.
Choi You Sun reports.
 
Report: The KMA, which primarily represents doctors in private practice, has criticized the government for its "word games" over its announcement to revert next year's medical school admissions quota to pre-reform levels.
 
At a press briefing on Friday, the KMA said the government is only reducing admissions for the 2026 academic year while keeping the quota at five-thousand-58 for the following years.
 
The doctors' group said the government's announced quota cut cannot be trusted and urged the government to first apologize for its failed health care reforms.
 
The KMA said the top priority is to concurrently train first-year students from the 2024 and 2025 academic years before discussing next year's admissions.
 
The association said the government's pressure on medical students who have yet to return to their studies in protest of the quota hike, including suggestions of expulsion, is not the right way to resolve the situation.
 
Earlier, the government urged students to return by the end of March, emphasizing that, unlike last year, there will be no flexibility in academic affairs.
 
On Friday, Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong urged parents and the medical community to persuade students to return to school, vowing to take stern measures against those committing illegal acts to obstruct their return.
 
Meanwhile, the minister expressed the government's unwavering resolve to proceed with the reforms, adding that a second-phase reform plan will soon be announced that includes fostering secondary medical institutions outside the capital area and improving protections against medical malpractice.

Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.