SEOUL — Second Health Vice Minister Park Min-soo urged doctors on Tuesday to halt their collective action as medical school professors considered weekly day-offs, escalating concerns over potential disruptions to the country’s healthcare system.
According to Philippines News Agency, approximately 12,000 trainee doctors have abandoned their posts since February 20 in protest against the government’s proposal to increase the number of medical students. This move has led to significant delays and cancellations of surgeries and other public health services across major hospitals. In solidarity with the junior doctors, medical professors have begun submitting their resignations. Park emphasized the importance of ceasing the collective actions and encouraged the medical community to participate in a new special commission on medical reform, which is set to launch this week to facilitate productive discussions on reforming the medical system.
The commission, to be formed under presidential direction, will include officials from the health ministry, representatives from other relevant ministries, and about 20 experts. They will explore various issues, including adjustments to medical school admissions and strategies for increasing investment in critical medical fields. Despite this initiative, both the Korea Medical Association and the Korea Intern Resident Association have announced their intention to boycott the commission.
The situation has further intensified as medical professors contemplate taking a weekly day off due to the prolonged absence of trainee doctors, which has drastically increased their workload. The emergency committee for national medical professors plans to hold a general meeting to discuss the potential suspension of all surgeries and outpatient treatments once a week. The specifics of this plan, such as its commencement, will depend on the conditions at individual hospitals, though emergency rooms and intensive care units are expected to continue operating.
This move by the professors aims to pressure the government for resolutions, especially as the deadline to finalize next year’s medical school admission quotas approaches at the end of April. Some hospitals, like Chungnam National University Hospital in Daejeon, have already begun to cut outpatient services on Fridays, with concerns that others may follow.
Adding to the complexity, medical professors at institutions such as Seoul National University began submitting their resignations on March 25, which could become legally effective after one month even without employer approval. The education ministry has noted that while the number of resignations is not extensive, none have been accepted yet.
The government has proposed forming the special commission and allowing universities to determine their own quotas within a range specified by the government for the coming year. However, these proposals have been rejected by the doctors, who demand a complete reassessment of the plan. The government argues that increasing the medical school admission quota is essential to address doctor shortages, especially in rural areas and vital medical specialties, anticipating a shortfall of 15,000 doctors by 2035 due to aging demographics and other factors. Doctors counter that increasing the quota could dilute the quality of medical education and services and lead to an oversupply of physicians, urging the government to encourage more practice in less popular medical fields such as high-risk surgeries and emergency medicine.