South Korean Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo said the mass resignation of medical professors in late March was "taking the lives and health of the people hostage".
"Even professors have announced that they will resign collectively unless their demands are met. This is a serious act of intimidation against the interests of the people. We must eliminate such collective actions in the medical field," Vice Minister Park said on March 17.
Mr. Park also reaffirmed that the government will not change its plan to increase 2,000 admissions to medical universities in 2025.
Previously, Korean medical professors decided to submit their resignations from March 25 to support the striking doctors, but still ensure treatment for patients at the hospital.
The decision was made by professors at an online meeting of 20 universities held late on March 15. At the meeting, 16 of the 20 schools supported the decision to submit their resignations, which is considered an overwhelming number. The remaining are still considering whether to participate, according to Bang Jae-seung, head of the council's emergency committee. South Korea has a total of 40 medical universities.
"This decision does not mean we are abandoning patients. But if the current situation continues, there will be irreparable damage to public health in the long term," Bang said at a press conference.
He said medical professors would do their best to treat patients until the resignation procedures were completed. The medical council argued that the move was to prevent medical incidents. They said the government should withdraw its decision to increase the admission quota.
South Korean doctors protest in Seoul on March 3 against the government's increase in medical school admissions quotas. Photo: AFP
As of March 15, about 11,900 medical interns at 100 hospitals had quit their jobs in response to the recruitment plan. Tensions escalated when medical school professors also announced that they would resign en masse. Medical school professors, who are also senior doctors, play a pivotal role in treating severe and critical patients in Korea. The Health Ministry has received more than 1,200 reports of patients affected and having their treatment delayed.
The strike by South Korean resident doctors has lasted nearly four weeks, sparked by the government’s plan to increase the number of medical school students by 2025 because the country has the lowest doctor-to-population ratio among developed countries. This will improve medical services in remote areas and meet the needs of the country’s rapidly aging population.
Contrary to the government’s view, resident doctors say the country does not need more doctors because there are already enough, and that increasing enrollment will reduce the quality of training and medical services, arguing that the population is declining and that Koreans have easy access to medical services. They call on the government to address low salaries and benefits, and improve legal protections against excessive medical malpractice lawsuits, rather than dramatically increasing the quota.
Khanh Linh (According to Yonhap )
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