"Will 'Individual Resignation Letter Submission' Spread?... Resident Association President Says 'Leaving Hospital'"

Resignation Not Believed to Be for Collective Action

Park Dan, president of the Korean Intern Resident Association (Daejeon Association), announced plans to submit his resignation letter. Following the recent public resignation of an intern at Daejeon St. Mary's Hospital, attention is focused on whether 'individual resignation submissions' will spread.

[Image source=Facebook capture]

On the morning of the 15th at around 8:30 AM, President Park stated on his personal SNS, "I plan to submit my resignation letter on the 20th and, in accordance with Article 9 of the law for improving the training environment and status of residents, Article 43 of the Standard Rules for Resident Training, and Article 660 of the Civil Act, I will faithfully work at the hospital for 30 days from February 20 to March 20 to ensure a smooth handover according to the training contract, after which I will leave Severance Hospital."

He added, "Since my status as a resident will end, I will not be able to maintain the position of president of the Korean Intern Resident Association after that, so I will perform presidential duties only until March 20. The by-election and operational methods will be discussed at the general assembly in accordance with the association's regulations."

It is presumed that the resignation is not intended as a collective action. He said, "I will always support the free will of my fellow doctors," but also urged, "Please absolutely refrain from collective action."

Earlier, on the 12th, the Daejeon Association decided at an online emergency general assembly to have all executive members except President Park resign and transition to an emergency response committee system. The association is known to have set the direction for collective action toward individual resignation submissions rather than a large-scale strike internally, in opposition to the government's expansion of medical school quotas.

Meanwhile, intern Hong Jae-woo, working at Daejeon St. Mary's Hospital, also posted a video titled "Resolution" on the 'PublicTube Meditalk' YouTube channel on the 13th, publicly expressing his intention to resign. He said, "I decided to resign and take a break for personal reasons," adding, "Given the current situation where perceptions of doctors are filled with hostility and anger, I judged it difficult to continue medical practice and decided to step down temporarily." He emphasized that this was his personal stance, not the official position of the Korean Intern Resident Association (Daejeon Association), and even revealed his medical license number, saying, "If you think I am inciting collective action, you may take away my license."