Confrontation between medical professors and government rises

Mar 18, 2024, 09:39 am

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A medical staff touches his head at a university hospital in Seoul on March 17, 2024. The medical crisis, which broke out due to the mass resignation of trainee doctors on April 19, continues. Professors at medical schools nationwide have decided to submit their resignations from their respective universities after March 25./ Source: Yonhap News

AsiaToday reporter Ji Hwan-hyuk

The confrontation between the government and physicians, which began nearly a month ago with the mass walkouts by trainee doctors in protest against the government’s decision to increase enrollment at medical schools by 2,000, is intensifying as professors at medical schools nationwide have decided to submit their resignations from their respective universities.

According to the medical community on Sunday, medical professors who have been by the patients’ side in hospitals have decided to submit their resignations after March 25. The emergency committee of medical school professors announced that professors from at least 16 medical schools across the nation will start submitting their resignations voluntarily on March 25, urging the government to reconsider its plan to expand the number of medical school quota. The resolution of medical professors is believed to be due to the judgment that the government and the ruling party will take a step back when the official election campaign for the general election begins on March 28.

However, the government remains firm. It made it clear that it would not withdraw its plan to increase the number of medical school students by 2,000 despite the move by medical professors to submit their resignations. “It is illegal for trainee doctors to be out of the hospital, but there is no mention of that,” said Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo. “Professors say they will not stand still if their pupils face disadvantage, and this is a remark that challenged the rule of law. Instead of asking the government to reconsider its plan to raise the number of medical students, they should immediately ask trainee doctors to return to the hospital to help resolve the situation that endangers the lives of the people.”

What is promising is that voices calling for doctors to return to their workplace have begun to emerge. “The threat the trainee doctors are posing to patients’ health and lives with their collective action is quite serious,” Joo Young-soo, head of the National Medical Center, said in a press conference. He urged doctors to return to their workplaces and expressed regret and concern over doctors supporting for mass resignation of doctors.

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