The government and the Korean Medical Association(KMA) sat down for talks on Thursday to discuss the issue of increasing the enrollment quota for medical students but failed to narrow their differences.

The health ministry and the KMA held their 16th round of talks on the contentious issue in Seoul during which the medical group stressed that the quota expansion must not be pursued based solely on public opinion as it claimed that South Korea’s healthcare accessibility is the best in the world. 

Head of the Incheon Medical Association, Lee Kwang-rae, stressed that increasing the enrollment quota must be arranged based on scientific evidence alone. 

The government, on its part, said it will gather opinions from other sectors of the medical profession. 

The health ministry’s director general for health and medical policies, Jung Kyung-shil, said the government will provide a systematic road map to enable medical services to faithfully play the role of guardians of health for the people in ten years. 

Jung said the government will heed the views of various circles in the medical field, including current medical school students, before reflecting the collected views in its policy.