As protests over medical reforms entered their second week, South Korea issued a call on Monday for trainee doctors to return to work, promising them protection from punitive measures if they returned to the hospitals.
As part of a spiraling strike against government plans to substantially boost medical school admissions in the face of shortages plus an aging population, thousands of junior physicians have quit and stopped coming to work.
Due to the widespread work stoppage, cancer patients’ surgeries and pregnant women’s C-sections have been canceled or postponed, and the government has raised its public health alert to the highest level due to the potential consequences.
In South Korea, doctors are regarded as vital employees, and their ability to strike is legally restricted.
According to Yonhap news agency, the government has stated repeatedly that the mass resignation is illegal and has vowed to either prosecute those responsible or revoke their medical licenses.
The interior minister, Lee Sang-min, stated during a crisis management meeting on Monday that the government has made a “final appeal” for the doctors to return to work this week.
“If you return to the hospital by February 29, you will not be held accountable for what happened in the past,” he said.
Seoul claims to have one of the lowest rates of doctors per thousand people among developed nations, and starting the next year, the government is working hard to add 2,000 extra students each year to the medical school intake.
Physicians have expressed strong resistance to the government plan, arguing that it will lower the standard of care.
Doctors’ primary concerns, according to reform proponents, are that changes may lower their pay and social standing.
Junior doctors argue that the current healthcare system’s excessive reliance on trainees was unfair and unreasonable, and that the forthcoming adjustments to medical education are the last straw in a field where they already face difficult working conditions.
However, surveys indicate that up to 75% of South Koreans favor increasing the number of people admitted to medical schools, with many who live in rural areas finding it difficult to get access to high-quality healthcare.
