Concerns brewing over doctors’ collective action, but gov’t vows stern response

Worries over doctors’ collective action in protest of a plan to boost medical students mounted Friday as trainee doctors at major hospitals decided to resign early next week, while the government repeated its pledge to sternly deal with their move.

Doctors have warned of a large-scale strike and other responses in opposition to the government’s decision announced last week to add 2,000 to the country’s medical school enrollment quota next year, marking a sharp rise from the current 3,058 seats.

Earlier in the day, trainee doctors of five major general hospitals in Seoul said they would submit their letters of resignation en masse Monday, intensifying their strike threat over the plan to increase the number of medical students.

The trainee doctors at the five hospitals also decided to walk off the job next Tuesday, according to the Korea Intern Resident Association.

In response, the health ministry ordered 221 training hospitals to ban mass leave and maintain essential medical personnel, reaffirming the government’s pledge to take stern measures against any collective action by doctors that threatens the safety of patients.

Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo told reporters that the government will “protect the lives and health of the people by mobilizing all necessary resources.”

“The government will unwaveringly accomplish medical reform,” Park said, calling on the doctors to “immediately” stop “illegal” collective actions.

More than 150 doctors from seven other hospitals, including Wonkwang University Hospital, Gachon University Gil Medical Center and Korea University Guro Hospital, had also submitted letters of resignation as of Thursday midnight, according to the ministry.

In a bid to block a potential strike, the government has ordered training hospitals to reject such resignation letters from intern and resident doctors.

Unless residents step down legally as doctors, they must return to work if the government issues an administrative order because doctors are classified as essential workers.

Public opinion is also unfavorable to the doctors, according to a survey conducted by the Korean Health and Medical Workers’ Union in December, where 89.3 percent of the respondents supported the government’s plan and 85.6 percent were against the doctors going on strike.

Despite the government’s warning of a stern response, medical students were also pushing for boycotting classes en masse in protest of the medical school quota hike plan.

The Korean Medical Student Association has conducted a survey on all medical students across the country on whether they approve of a plan to submit a leave of absence. The seniors at Hallym University College of Medicine have already announced they will leave school temporarily.