Yoon promises a 'bold investment' into the medical sector

Social Affairs

Published: 26 Mar. 2024, 18:26

Yoon promises a 'bold investment' into the medical sector

President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, shakes hands with medical professionals at Hankook General Hospital in North Chungcheong on Tuesday. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday promised to make a “bold investment” in the medical sector, giving it the same weight as national security, amid an escalating standoff with doctors.

“The negotiation between the government and the medical sector will let the government plan a budget for the next fiscal year and set priorities,” Yoon said, according to Lee Do-woon, senior presidential secretary for public relations.

Yoon said that the expanded enrollment quota distributed per school is the “bare minimum” for medical reform, reaffirming a 2,000-seat hike.

The government will "complete follow-up measures for the admissions hike in May" to ensure that medical schools can accommodate the increased number of students with no hassle.

“The government laid a foundation to bolster rural health care and the essential medical field by allocating the majority of the additions to national universities and small-sized medical schools in regions far from the greater Seoul area,” Yoon said during a Cabinet meeting on the same day.

“Over 60 percent of medical schools’ enrollment quota will be reserved for students from regional high schools. Through the admission scheme, students who are fond of their regions will be in charge of regional health care and gain residents’ respect."

Medical professionals take care of patients at an emergency room at a general hospital in Daegu on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

A support team under the Prime Minister's Secretariat’s Office for Government Policy Coordination will discuss a survey schedule on Tuesday to gather demands from each medical school on how to improve their educational environment.

The Education Ministry’s field inspection team will visit medical schools nationwide until Friday to understand their needs for refurbishing and upgrading teaching environments.

“The government will make its full commitment to foster sound educational and training environments at medical schools through close coordination with affiliated authorities and universities,” Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo said during a Central Disaster Management Headquarters meeting on Tuesday.

Academia remains unconvinced by the government.

The Seoul National University Faculty Council on Tuesday issued a statement asking the government to reassess its plan for expanding admissions quota at medical schools.

“A sudden hike can undermine the country’s medical service and studies in the long run and will thwart the governmental initiative to nurture students in STEM fields,” the statement said, adding it can “jeopardize research capabilities altogether.”

“If students do not return by the end of April, mass flunking is inevitable. In this scenario, every medical school would need to teach classes two times larger than usual [in next school year], which would be an educational challenge.”

Dozens of medical professors' resignations are submitted into a transparent container at Korea University Anam Hospital in central Seoul on Monday. [NEWS1]

As medical professors began resigning on Monday, their collective actions are gaining ground.

Over 500 medical professors from the University of Ulsan, Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital and Korea University’s hospitals filed their resignations on Monday.

According to a report from Yonhap News on Tuesday, of the 200 medical professors at Chungbuk National University Hospital, around 50 have tendered their resignations. Some 25 medical professors from Gyeongsang National University also expressed their intent to resign.

The government, wishing to curb further collective resignations, will take stern actions against medical professionals exerting peer pressure on colleagues to submit resignations. They will also assess whether such actions qualify as workplace harassment.

“The government will prioritize the support and protection for medical students focusing on their studies, junior doctors attending medical duties at health care front lines or those wishing to return and professors who want to stand by their patients,” Park said.

Between March 12 and Monday, the Health Ministry's protection and damage reporting center had received 84 reports from junior doctors about being forced to join protest efforts.

However, most of these reports were incomplete, as complainants refused to finalize the reporting procedure due to the fear of possible retaliation, according to the government.

“The ministry will thoroughly manage and protect the personal information of whistle-blowers,” Park said.

The authorities noted that medical professors are also eligible to report their colleagues who coerced them to join collective actions.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]