The welfare committee's question...Conflict and budget cuts in medical schools

In the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee's pending questions, conflicts between the government and the medical community over the increase in medical schools and the reduction of the budget for psychological treatment support coupled with the Jeju Air plane disaster were on the cutting board.

The opposition parties, including the Democratic Party of Korea, recently pointed out that the government will reconsider the issue of increasing medical schools in 2026, only to withdraw the increase after President Yoon's job was suspended.

He continued to criticize the Dec. 3 emergency decree, saying that the Ministry of Health and Welfare's cooperation is necessary, but that related instructions have not been delivered to the ministry.

On the other hand, lawmakers of the People's Power argued that the government's psychological treatment support for the bereaved families of the Jeju Air disaster was insufficient, and that budget cuts led by opposition parties were a stumbling block.

The mental health-related budget was criticized by opposition parties as the so-called "Kim Gun-hee budget" and later passed with a 15% cut, urging them to review psychological treatment and psychological support services to spur support for the bereaved families of the disaster.