Gov’t sets Thursday deadline for trainee doctors to return to work

Feb 27, 2024, 12:59 am

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Interior Minister Lee Sang-min speaks during a government meeting in Seoul on Feb. 26, 2024./ Source: Yonhap News

AsiaToday reporter Roh Sung-woo

The government issued an ultimatum to trainee doctors on Monday, stating that those who return to work by Thursday will not face accountability. This comes after more than ten thousand trainee doctors submitted their resignations and went on strike last week to protest the government’s plan to increase the annual quota of medical school enrollments.

The measure was announced following a government meeting to respond to the ongoing collective action by trainee doctors.

The government said junior doctors who return to work by Thursday will not be held accountable for their violation of the relevant law. However, the suspension of doctors’ licenses for a minimum of three months will become unavoidable for those who fail to return under the law and principle, starting in March, along with judicial measures, such as investigations and prosecutions. As it has emphasized several times, the government has reaffirmed its existing policy that it will strictly punish not only medical professionals who took part in illegal collective actions but also those behind the scenes.

So far, more than 10,000 trainee doctors have submitted letters of resignation. As of Friday, 10,034 junior doctors, or 80.5 percent of all such physicians from 100 major training hospitals, have submitted their resignations. However, all resignations have not been accepted. In addition, 9,006 trainee doctors, or 72.3 percent, have actually left their worksites.

The government has ordered 7,038 doctors to start work, and 5,976 doctors have received confirmation of non-compliance from their hospitals.

As of 6 p.m. on Friday, there were 38 new cases reported to the Physician Collective Action Victim Reporting and Support Center. Surgery delays accounted for 31 cases, followed by 3 cases of medical refusal, 2 cases of cancelled appointments, and 2 cases of delayed hospitalization. The total number of reported cases has increased to 227.

The government stressed that medical reform, which includes the increase in medical school admission quota and essential medical policy packages, is the most effective way to minimize the burden on the public and normalize the abnormal medical system. In a briefing on Monday, Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo asked for the people’s understanding and cooperation, saying that the normalization of medical system would be further away if the policy retreats again due to collective opposition from the medical community.

“Providing timely and proper medical treatment to sick people is at the core of welfare and constitutional responsibility of the state,” President Yoon Suk-yeol said during a weekly meeting with his senior secretaries.

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