Tensions rise between government and doctors

Mar 04, 2024, 08:59 am

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Doctors hold a rally in Yeouido, Seoul, on March 3, in protest of the government plan to raise the medical school admissions quota./ Source: Yonhap News

AsiaToday reporter Roh Sung-woo

Tens of thousands of doctors gathered in Seoul’s Yeouido on Sunday, calling the government to retract its decision to increase the medical school admissions quota. In response, the government reaffirmed its strict response policy for doctors who have not returned to work. It warned that legal procedures, such as suspending licenses, conducting investigations and initiating prosecutions, would be inevitable for those who have not returned to work, further intensifying confrontation between doctors and the government.

The Korean Medical Association (KMA) held the demonstration, urging the government to nullify its “essential medical package,” including the hike in medical school quotas and the ban on mixed treatment.

“The government announced a large-scale increase of medical school quotas on February 6 by surprise,” Kim Taek-woo, who heads the emergency committee of the KMA, said. Kim accused the government of unilaterally pursuing medical reform without prior consultation with the medical field. “The government will face resistance from the public if it turns a blind eye to doctors’ efforts and attempts to repress them.”

The police estimated that the event gathered around 8,500 participants, one-third of the expected number of participants reported by the rally organizers.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Han Duk-soo said the government will initiate formal procedures for criminal punishment without hesitation. “The government feels sorry (for those who did not return to work) as they turned a blind eye to the voices of their teachers, patients, and even the entire nation. The government stands firm in its principles,” he said during a pan-government meeting responding to the doctors’ strike on Sunday. “Should the unlawful action of abolishing patients persist, the government will fulfill its constitutional and legal obligations without hesitation,” he said.

Separately, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min also urged trainee doctors to return to work, saying that trainee doctors will be granted leniency if they return to their hospitals by Sunday. “If they fail to return by today, the government has no choice but to deal with them sternly in accordance with the law and principles,” Lee said during his appearance on a live TV news program.

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