Presidential office slams doctors for 'rejecting dialogue' with gov't

Social Affairs

Published: 23 Apr. 2024, 18:20

Presidential office slams doctors for 'rejecting dialogue' with gov't

Jang Sang-yoon, senior presidential secretary for social policy, speaks during a briefing on Tuesday at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul. [YONHAP]

The presidential office on Tuesday accused the medical sector of “rejecting one-on-one dialogue with the government” and expressed “regret” over their uncooperative attitude.

Jang Sang-yoon, senior presidential secretary for social policy, said on the same day that the health care sector refused one-on-one dialogue even after the government proposed a “consultative body comprised of the Korean Medical Association, junior doctors, medical students, medical professors and the government.”

Jang’s remarks countered the doctors' recent demand that the government engage in exclusive talks with them.

The secretary called on doctors to participate in dialogue with the government in “any format” to achieve a constructive and reasonable development amid the ongoing standoff.

A medical professional walks toward a research lab building in a general hospital in Seoul on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

On the same day, medical professors nationwide were set to decide whether to take a single day off every week and postpone their operations and medical appointments.

The professors are searching for ways to mitigate the increased burden and fatigue from taking on more work during the junior doctors' strike.

An official from a nationwide coalition of emergency professorial committees at some 20 medical schools said the closure could be implemented differently “depending on each hospital and university’s situation.”

Health care services for outpatients and non-urgent surgeries are expected to be most affected, while emergency rooms and intensive care units operating around the clock are less likely to be impacted.

The decision could prompt other general hospitals to adopt similar service closures or suspensions.

Starting this week, medical professors at Chungnam National University’s hospitals in Sejong and Daejeon will not perform their medical duties on Fridays, including appointments for outpatients and operations. However, treatment for critically ill patients will continue.

Seoul National University’s medical professors were set to vote in an internal meeting Tuesday on a possible weekly closure. On the same day, the faculty of the University of Ulsan’s medical school were set to discuss ways to restrict the admission of new patients.

Thursday marks a month since hundreds of medical professors filed their resignations.

Although medical professors can rely on the Korean Civil Act, which says resignations become effective when a month has passed since their submission, the Health Ministry on Monday said that none of the tendered resignations would be effective.

Yet, medical professors who believe their resignations are valid are preparing to leave their hospitals.

According to a Yonhap report on Tuesday, Prof. Kang Hee-gyung and Ahn Yo-han of the pediatrics department of Seoul National University Hospital in central Seoul recently told patients they would leave by the end of August. They also advised their patients to transfer and seek other doctors.

Prof. Choi Chang-min at Asan Medical Center in Seoul told the JoongAng Ilbo that the medical professors “have done enough, and now it is becoming unbearable.”

Prof. Choi Se-hoon, cardiologist at Asan Medical Center, said the “government should feel the gravity and seriousness of the status quo where irreplaceable medical personnel in essential medical fields are thinking of leaving their hospitals.” Choi said his colleagues are suffering from "burnout syndrome," and even he is planning to leave the hospital earlier next month.

The Korean patients' group requested the medical professionals remain in emergency rooms, intensive care units, operation rooms and birthing delivery rooms — medical fields that are directly related to patients’ lives — after Thursday and onward.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG, CHAE HYE-SEON [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]