South Korea sets Thursday as deadline for trainee doctors to abandon their strike

2024-02-26 05:32:02

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s government has given doctors in training four days to return to their jobs, saying Monday they will not be punished if they return by then but will face charges and suspensions. their medical licenses if they don’t.

Some 9,000 resident and trainee doctors have gone on strike since early last week in protest at a government plan to increase places in medical schools by around 65%. The strikes have greatly affected operations at its hospitals, with numerous cancellations of surgeries and other treatments.

Officials say increasing the number of doctors is necessary to manage South Korea’s rapidly aging population. The current doctor-patient ratio in the country is among the lowest in the developed world.

Strikers say universities cannot handle so many new students and say the plan would not solve a chronic shortage of doctors in some key but lower-paid areas such as pediatrics or emergency units.

In a televised news conference on Monday, Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo said the government will not take disciplinary action once morest striking doctors if they return to work by Thursday.

“We want them to return to work by the end of this month, on February 29. If they return to the hospitals they left by then, we will not hold them accountable” for any harm caused by the strikes, Park said.

However, he noted that those who do not meet the deadline will be punished with a minimum three-month suspension of their medical licenses and will face additional legal actions such as investigations and possible charges.

Under South Korean medical law, the government can order doctors and other health workers to return to work in the face of serious public health risks. Failure to comply with these orders can lead to up to three years in prison or fines of 30 million won ($22,480), as well as the withdrawal of a medical license.

In South Korea there are regarding 13,000 medical trainees and residents, mostly in 100 hospitals. They usually assist veteran doctors in surgeries and care for hospitalized patients. They represent around 30% and 40% of the medical staff in some large hospitals.

The Korean Medical Association, which represents some 140,000 doctors in the country, has expressed its support for the strikers, although it has not decided whether to join the strikes. Veteran doctors have held several marches to oppose the government’s plan.

The government announced this month that universities would admit 2,000 more medical students starting next year, compared to 3,058 currently. The government says it aims to add up to 10,000 doctors by 2035.

A public poll showed that around 80% of South Koreans support the government’s plan. Critics suspect that doctors, one of the highest-paid professions in South Korea, oppose the plan because they are worried regarding facing more competition and having less income.

Striking doctors have said they are concerned that doctors facing more competition will prescribe unnecessary treatments, which would place a burden on public health spending.

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