Trainee doctors at five major hospitals in Seoul decided on Friday to collectively submit letters of resignation to protest against the government’s plan to increase the annual enrollment quota at medical schools starting next year.
In a similar move, medical students agreed to take a leave of absence en masse.
Intensified protests by young doctors raise concerns that patients may find themselves unable to receive adequate and timely medical services. But the government continued to take an unmovable stance, saying there will be no leniency for those engaging in collective actions.
Tensions between doctors and the government have escalated, with both sides showing no sign of backing down, over the health ministry’s Feb. 6 announcement that the annual enrollment quota at 40 medical schools nationwide will increase next year to 5,058 from the current 3,058.
According to the Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA), an association of interns and resident doctors, trainee doctors at the so-called “big five” hospitals in Seoul — Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul Asan Medical Center, Samsung Medical Center, Severance Hospital and Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital — decided to submit their letters of resignation en masse on Monday and stop working at 6 a.m. on Tuesday.
The strike threat by interns and resident doctors is considered serious, as they play a key role in emergency rooms and intensive care units at large hospitals.
When the previous Moon Jae-in government was pushing to raise the medical school enrollment quota in 2020, collective action by trainee doctors caused substantial inconveniences for patients, especially at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This eventually led the Moon government to retract its proposal.
The latest decision made by trainee doctors at the big five hospitals raised the possibility of those at other hospitals joining in.
At Wonkwang University Hospital, all 126 of its trainee doctors had already submitted their letters of resignation en masse, expressing their intention to work until March 15 and quit.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 154 trainee doctors at seven hospitals, including the 126 at Wonkwang University Hospital, have submitted their letters of resignation as of Thursday.
None of these resignation letters have been accepted, the ministry noted.
Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo speaks during a briefing at the Government Complex Seoul, Friday. Yonhap
In response to actions by junior doctors, the health ministry ordered 221 teaching hospitals across the country to put an effective ban on mass leave and ensure they maintain essential medical personnel.
The ministry said leaving hospitals is equivalent to refusing patients, and in this case, the government can issue an order for doctors to return to work, citing the Medical Service Act. Violators of this order face suspension of their licenses for up to one year or imprisonment of up to three years.
The law also stipulates that the government possesses the authority to potentially revoke doctors’ licenses should they be sentenced by a court after failing to adhere to this order.
“The government will mobilize all available legal and administrative measures against any actions that take hostage the lives of patients, to protect the safety of the public,” Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo said during a media briefing.
Medical students, for their part, are also moving to join the protests by taking an en masse leave of absence. Representatives from 35 medical schools out of 40 agreed unanimously to apply for leave of absence on Tuesday.
In response, the Ministry of Education urged medical schools to monitor the situation closely.
The government has been seeking to raise the medical school enrollment quota to address shortages of doctors and improve public access to medical services.
On the other hand, doctors and medical students raised concerns that expanding the number of placements could adversely affect the quality of education and training.
In a Gallup Korea survey of 1,002 adults, released also on Friday, 76 percent of participants supported the government’s plan, while 16 percent disagreed with it, and 9 percent reserved judgment.
