Gov't sighs in relief as trainee doctors avoid strike for now

Social Affairs

Published: 13 Feb. 2024, 18:00 Updated: 13 Feb. 2024, 20:23

Gov't sighs in relief as trainee doctors avoid strike for now

A poster opposing a hike in the medical school enrollment quota is spotted at the Korean Medical Association (KMA) headquarters in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Tuesday, head of the KMA’s rallies set to be held nationwide Thursday. Trainee doctors have also been mulling collective action but did not come up with a statement after their overnight meeting on Monday. [NEWS1]

Trainee doctors, despite convening an overnight meeting, didn't decide to take part in a general strike to protest a planned hike in the medical school enrollment quota, much to the government's relief.

This comes as the government warned it would take stern punitive action if illegal acts threaten the health and lives of the people, with a major doctors' group already having threatened collective action on Thursday.

Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo said in a press briefing that the government was "relieved" that the Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA) did not announce a collective action plan after a meeting to discuss the matter.

The association, comprised of interns and residents, convened a general meeting of representatives on Monday evening and early Tuesday to discuss a response to the planned increase in the medical school enrollment quota but issued no official statement as of Tuesday afternoon.

Instead, KIRA announced that the association's leaders, except its chair, resigned, and the group transitioned to an emergency leadership system. Instead of protesting the government's plan outright, the group appears to be taking a cautious approach for now.

Last week, the government announced a plan to increase the medical school enrollment quota by 2,000 spots next year. This marked a sharp hike from the current quota, which has been capped at 3,058 since 2006.

This decision has been met with fierce backlash from doctors' groups, threatening general strikes if the government follows through with the quota increase. Doctors' groups have claimed that fixing the current system, including better salaries, would be more effective in encouraging doctors to work in rural areas and less popular essential medical fields.

The Korea Medical Association (KMA), the country's largest doctors' group, announced that it would hold protests nationwide Thursday as its first collective action. The KMA has transitioned into emergency mode after its head, Lee Pil-soo, resigned as its head on Feb. 6.

On Feb. 5, KIRA revealed that 88.2 percent of respondents were likewise willing to partake in collective action in a survey of 10,000 residents at some 140 training hospitals if the medical school enrollment quota was expanded.

Trainee doctors at the five major hospitals in Seoul, comprised of Seoul National University Hospital, Severance Hospital, Asan Medical Center, Samsung Medical Center and Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, four, excluding Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, have agreed to participate in a general strike if KIRA leads one.

Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo holds a press briefing at the Sejong government complex urging trainee doctors against taking collective action over the government’s plan to hike the medical school enrollment quota Tuesday morning. [NEWS1]

"We ask trainee doctors to make a decision that protects patients," Vice Minister Park said in Tuesday's briefing, saying that as a decision was not yet made, it will continue to monitor the situation "without letting our guard down."

He pledged to "accelerate medical reform to improve working conditions in hospitals and make them sustainable workplaces."

Park said the Health Ministry would proceed with its essential medical policy package quickly to enable reviving local and essential health care, which was revealed at the beginning of the month to appeal to doctors.

He also promised the speedy enactment of a law to establish a safety net for medical accidents and to enable fair compensation for medical workers.

Park also refuted the arguments against increasing the medical student quota raised by doctors' groups.

He rejected claims that the announcement of the increase in medical school admissions was for election purposes and that a compromise would be reached with the medical community to reduce the number after the April 10 general elections.

"We would like to reiterate once again that increasing the number of doctors was a policy decision solely for public health," Park said. "We will quickly implement the relevant procedures in consultation with the Education Ministry so that allocation to each school can be confirmed before April."

He also addressed the views of those who said they supported an increase in medical school admissions but said that 2,000 was too high, arguing that the government was already late to address the country's looming doctor shortage.

"The additional number of doctors needed by 2035 is 15,000, and an increase of 2,000 is not enough," Park said. "It is not a matter of increasing by too much, but being too late."

Prime Minister Duck-soo, in turn, warned that the government will not hesitate to push for an increase in the number of medical school students for the country's future and will punish accordingly those who act against this.

"The government will only focus on the people and the future of Korea and will not hesitate to push for an increase in the number of medical school students," Han said in a Cabinet meeting Tuesday at the Seoul government complex. "In the process, we will respond strictly per law and principles against illegal acts that threaten the health and lives of the people."

Han noted that doctor shortages have inconvenienced and threatened people's health and lives, citing the shortage of emergency room beds, difficulty finding pediatricians, and the lack of sufficient health care in regional areas.

"Increasing the number of medical students is the starting point and an essential task of medical reform, and the people also recognize the necessity of the government's plan and support it," Han said. "We earnestly urge the medical community to participate in the government's plan for the people and Korea."

Han added that the government is "fully aware that problems such as lack of essential medical personnel and medical disparities between regions cannot be solved by simply increasing the number of doctors."

Acknowledging the concerns of the doctors' groups, he stressed, "What is clear is that no problems caused by the current medical system can be solved without an absolute expansion of the number of doctors."

On Tuesday, President Yoon Suk Yeol also addressed local medical and educational reform in a town hall meeting on balanced regional development in Busan.

"To usher in a truly local era, industry and jobs alone are not enough," Yoon said in the 11th public livelihood debate at Busan City Hall. "We must drastically change local residential conditions, including education, health care and culture, to improve the quality of life."

He said that the central government would support the construction of a children's hospital in Busan to strengthen the public health care system and build the city as a global hub.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]