Gov’t must pay heed to the shift in public opinion

One month has passed since trainee doctors at large general hospitals submitted their resignations en mass to protest the government’s plan to increase the enrollment quota for medical schools. The medical community and the government are not budging an inch. But the biggest victims are patients and their families. If medical professors join the collective protest, the situation could get even worse. It is time for doctors and the government to find a breakthrough in the stalemate as quickly as possible.

Above all, the government must pay heed to the remarkable shift in public sentiment over the quota increase. According to a Gallup Korea poll last week, 47 percent supported the government’s plan to raise the enrollment quota by 2,000, while 41 percent wanted the government to adjust the size of the increase or the timing. But when you include the 6 percent who oppose the increase, it’s evenly split.

However, despite overwhelming support (88 percent) for any increase in the quota, more than a few respondents demanded the government compromise rather than sticking with the original 2,000.

In the survey, more people (49 percent) attributed the deepening medical vacuum at large hospitals to the government’s immature response from the start than to doctors (38 percent). Clearly, the primary responsibility for the mess should be borne by thousands of trainee doctors who left their hospitals. A group action that takes the health and life of patients hostage cannot be justified no matter what.

Nevertheless, public skepticism about the government’s ability to manage the evolving crisis is deepening. The government certainly would have expected strong resistance from the medical community. If so, it should have been thoroughly prepared for an upcoming crisis to minimize the vacuum. A hardline response alone cannot solve the problem.

The time has come for the medical society and the government to have an open-minded, head-to-head meeting to end this incomprehensible situation as soon as possible. To untie the knot, the government must send the signal to doctors that it is open to all agendas, including the quota increase. Appearing in a radio interview on Monday, Jang Sang-yoon, senior presidential secretary for social affairs, stressed that the government is ready to discuss the quota increase. But that is not enough. The government must send an even clearer message to doctors if it really wants to talk with them.

Some doctors are mentioning the need to increase the quota, though below the original suggestion of 2,000. We urge both sides to start talking over the optimum level of a quota increase after putting behind all their differences.