Police raid doctors' groups over influence of senior members on strike

Joo Soo-ho, chief of public relations on the emergency committee of the Korean Medical Association, delivers a speech in front of the organization's main office in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Friday after police raided the building. [YONHAP]

Police on Friday raided the offices of several doctors’ groups as part of their investigation into current and former Korean Medical Association (KMA) leaders who have been accused of triggering the ongoing mass walkout by junior doctors.

Investigators from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency descended early in the morning to search phones and computers at the offices of the KMA’s emergency committee and the Seoul Medical Association for information about their senior members’ involvement in the strike.

The raid came a day after the Health Ministry’s deadline passed for junior doctors who have walked off the job to return to work to avoid legal consequences, such as license suspensions or criminal prosecution.

Police launched an investigation on Wednesday after the Health Ministry filed a police complaint against five members of the KMA's emergency committee, accusing them of instigating the collective walkout by junior doctors who oppose the government’s plan to increase medical school recruitment by 2,000 slots.

In its complaint, the Health Ministry said the KMA leaders expressed support for collective action, provided legal assistance to striking doctors and encouraged defiance of the government’s back-to-work order.

The government has argued more doctors are needed in rural areas and essential medical fields, such as high-risk surgeries, pediatrics, obstetrics and emergency medicine.

While doctors claim that too many trainees enter lucrative fields such as cosmetic surgery and dermatology at the expense of low-paying, high-risk jobs in essential sectors, critics argue that doctors also oppose increased recruitment for fear of higher competition and lower pay.

The police raids took place on the eleventh day of the ongoing strike by intern and resident doctors.

Almost 10,000 junior doctors have submitted resignations in opposition to the medical recruitment expansion plan. Among them, 9,076 have walked off their jobs at general hospitals across the country.

Korea has approximately 13,000 medical interns and residents, most of whom work and train at 100 general hospitals. Junior doctors comprise 30 to 40 percent of total doctors at the country’s top hospitals, where they assist senior doctors during surgeries and deal with inpatients.

The walkout has forced major hospitals across the country to reduce operations and limit admissions to emergency rooms and intensive care units.

Although the government has threatened punitive action against junior doctors who fail to return to work, observers say prosecuting all of the doctors on strike could create a huge vacuum in the health care sector.

The Health Ministry said Friday that only 294 junior doctors who had gone on strike have returned to work, foreshadowing a protracted showdown.

The ministry previously said it had reached out to various medical associations to negotiate an end to the walkout, but said doctors' representatives had been "unresponsive."

Officials have indicated that punitive proceedings will likely be drawn out, potentially giving junior doctors a chance to change their minds.

“The licenses [of junior doctors on strike] will not be immediately suspended starting Monday. They will receive a prior notice as well as an opportunity to submit a statement,” said Kim Chung-hwan, an official in charge of legal matters at the Health Ministry.

Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo, however, said that the government will undertake “all necessary measures” against doctors who fail to provide “justifiable” reasons for their absence.

Several of the nation’s largest and best-known hospitals have sent messages to junior doctors on strike, urging them to return to their posts to take care of patients.

Police have also warned that those accused of participating in the walkout could be subject to arrest if they refuse to answer summons for questioning without a valid reason.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]