Senior doctors at numerous hospitals in South Korea are set to submit their resignations in solidarity with medical interns and residents who have been on strike for five weeks. The strike is in response to the government's proposal to significantly increase medical school admissions. The senior doctors have pledged to continue working despite submitting their resignations, minimizing immediate disruptions to hospital operations.
The strike, involving around 12,000 interns and medical residents, has led to the potential suspension of their licenses. This has resulted in the cancellation of numerous surgeries and treatments at hospitals across the country. The striking doctors argue that the proposed increase in medical school admissions would strain the capacity of schools and negatively impact the quality of medical services in South Korea.
Conversely, government officials emphasize the urgent need for more doctors in the country due to its aging population and low doctor-to-population ratio compared to other developed nations. The standoff between the government and doctors persists, with the latter demanding a rollback of the recruitment plan.
Following a meeting with ruling party representatives, medical professors, and doctors from university hospitals, it was asserted that the government's recruitment strategy could jeopardize the nation's medical system. While President Yoon Suk Yeol has expressed willingness to engage in dialogue with doctors and hinted at leniency towards the striking junior doctors, a resolution remains elusive without a revision of the recruitment plan.
The government's potential relaxation of punitive measures against the striking doctors and its openness to dialogue are seen as efforts to mitigate disruptions in hospital services ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections. The striking junior doctors, though a minority in the medical community, play crucial roles in major hospitals, assisting senior doctors and managing inpatients.
While public opinion generally supports the government's initiative to increase the number of doctors, concerns linger among medical professionals regarding potential income reductions and the distribution of doctors across different specialties and regions. The government argues that more doctors are needed to address long-standing shortages in rural areas and essential but less lucrative fields, whereas doctors fear heightened competition and the overutilization of medical services under the proposed plan.
