The doctor strike caused by the government’s decision to increase the enrollment of medical students in South Korea has continued for more than a month without any signs of abating. The government originally planned to start revoking the licenses of resident physicians who were absent from their internship on today (26th), but announced on Monday to retain this decision, hoping to solve the problem through dialogue. Medical school professors across the country resigned collectively as planned on Monday, while other professors reduced their consultation hours to show their support for the medical profession.
The government delays revoking doctors’ qualifications in an attempt to engage in dialogue
Yonhap News Agency quoted a relevant person from the presidential office, saying that the government is in dialogue with the medical community, so it is not appropriate to revoke the doctors’ licenses at present, but this does not mean that the punishment will be postponed indefinitely. The report pointed out that when President Yoon Suk-yeol met with the chairman of the emergency countermeasures committee of the ruling People’s Power Party, Han Dong-hoon, on Sunday, he accepted the other party’s suggestion to seek flexible solutions, and then instructed Prime Minister Han Deok-soo to establish a consultation mechanism with the medical community and continue to communicate closely with all sectors of society.
Meanwhile, nearly 100 professors from 40 medical schools across the country submitted their resignations on Monday. The Emergency Countermeasures Committee of the National Association of Medical University Professors issued a statement saying that after the professors who had resigned finished treating the patients they were responsible for on the day, they would leave the affiliated internship hospitals and medical schools. Kim Chang-soo, president of the National Association of Medical University Professors, revealed that other professors would start to reduce the treatment time of outpatients and focus on emergency and critical patients. The association emphasized that if the government does not revoke the expansion and quota allocation, this crisis will be difficult to solve.
On the same day, Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong said that when the National Association of Medical University Professors held a symposium with the People’s Power on Sunday, it was ready to have a constructive dialogue with the government, and the government welcomed it, while insisting on promoting the medical reform plan. However, professors from major medical schools condemned the symposium for having no substantial content.
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