For the first time in the history of the Korean Medical Association, a medical student has been appointed to an executive role. This move is aimed at incorporating the perspectives of medical students in addressing conflicts within medical policy.
The association announced on the 6th that Kyunghee University medical student Kang Ki-beom has been appointed as the 43rd Executive Policy Director, effective as of the 5th.
The newly appointed director, born in 1999, previously served as the chairperson of the emergency committee for the Korean Association of Medical Schools and Professional Graduate Schools, where he represented students’ views on expanding medical school quotas. The association emphasized that Kang's appointment reflects the importance of medical students’ perspectives in current policy conflicts and seeks to refresh the association’s decision-making framework.
Kim Taek-woo, president of the association, noted, "Despite medical students being key stakeholders in the current conflicts, the association's decision-making structure has made it difficult to reflect their voices." He added, "With significant changes expected in the future medical environment due to the development of artificial intelligence (AI), the association is restructuring to incorporate the opinions and positions of the younger generation".
He further stated, "Since we proposed granting associate member status to medical students as a commitment, we will establish a system that actively involves medical students in the association's policies going forward".
The new director said, "As a policy director, I will do my best to protect the rights of prospective doctors," adding, "I will focus on issues that may impact medical students, including medical education systems, national examinations, and internship systems".
He also stated, "I will closely cooperate with Lee Sun-woo, the chairperson of the Korean Medical Student Association, to facilitate smooth operations".
