Yoon postpones dinner with PPP leader amid row over medical school quota hike

Aug 29, 2024, 09:40 am

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President Yoon Suk-yeol leaves the venue after greeting Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), at the Munhwa Future Report 2024 event hosted by Munhwa Ilbo at the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul on Aug. 27, 2024./ Source: Yonhap News

AsiaToday reporter Hong Sun-mi

President Yoon Suk-yeol and Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), clashed again over the issue of the medical school quota increase.

Following the meeting of the high-ranking government-ruling party council on Monday, Han took to Facebook on Tuesday to publicly propose the deferral of the medical school quota increase for 2026. But the presidential office balked at the idea, saying the government stands by its plan to increase admissions by 2,000 seats every year for the next five years.

There are concerns within the ruling party that the row between Yoon and Han may resurface as the presidential office has postponed a dinner between Yoon and ruling PPP leaders planned for Friday, until after the Chuseok holiday.

“Ahead of Chuseok, the priority is to show how we are contemplating solutions to people’s livelihood issues, rather than showing the party and the government gathering for a meal,” a senior presidential official told AsiaToday in a message on Wednesday. “We plan to have the meal with the ruling party leadership after the Chuseok holiday,” the official added. This year’s Chuseok holiday will run from Sept. 16-18.

The dinner meeting was first proposed by the presidential office, and the postponement of the dinner was also proposed by the office.

The presidential office said the postponement is not due to political conflict with the ruling party.

However, many say that the presidential office may have expressed disappointment with Han, given that the postponement of the dinner was announced in the morning, a day after Han’s proposal to defer the medical school quota increase.

In the same context, the presidential office released an official statement stressing that the government’s position on medical reform remains unchanged.

A senior presidential office later told reporters that deferring the 2026 quota increase would cause “great confusion in college entrance procedures due to the uncertainty.”

#Yoon Suk-yeol #PPP #Han Dong-hoon #medical school quota