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Trainee doctors should return to hospitals now

Published: 08 Jul. 2024, 20:00

The government presented a new solution to appease trainee doctors who left their hospitals to protest the government’s drastic decision to increase the medical school admissions quota. The government plans to withdraw administrative punishments on them whether or not they would return to hospitals. In Monday’s press briefing, Health Minister Cho Kyu-hong said the government decided to cancel such penalties on all trainee doctors after considering the deepening medical crisis. “The government reached the decision after deep deliberations,” he added. The government had to take the action, given the five-month-long medical vacuum across the country.

In the meantime, patients are raising their voices to urge doctors and the government to end the ongoing medical crisis as soon as possible. A total of 92 patient groups criticized both sides in a street rally last Thursday. In a statement, patients and their families expressed strong anger and frustrations about “a tug of war between an irresponsible government and merciless doctors and medical professors.” Patients said they took to the streets to show their unbearable anxiety and damage from the walkout. A representative of the Korea Alliance for Patient Organizations said that more than 400 patients and their families gathered to let the medical community grasp the grim reality they face. To prevent patients from suffering more damage, the government and trainee doctors must normalize the operation of large hospitals.

In February, the government threatened to strictly punish trainee doctors on walkouts according to the law. At that time, the government showed a hardline position against them by mentioning the heaviest possible punishments by the law. The government’s about-turn reflects the need to find a breakthrough to stop prolonging the medical vacuum and the worsening financial condition of large hospitals. The government could have easily anticipated such vehement resistance from medical circles after its announcement of the quota hike. If so, the government should have thoroughly prepared for such a critical medical vacuum in advance.

Now that the government took a step back, trainee doctors must act. This kind of limbo cannot continue forever. Above all, doctors must not turn away from patients’ desperate plea for medical treatments. We hope trainee doctors stop their walkout and return to hospitals to save the lives of their patients. If both sides still fight over when to accept their resignations, for instance, it doesn’t help anyone. We urge trainee doctors and the government to resolve this crisis through constructive dialogue since the government left the room for renegotiation over the quota increase in 2026 and beyond.