Big 5 Residents Resolve to Submit Resignation Letters on the 19th
Ministry of Health and Welfare: "Collective Action Violates Medical Law"
Residents are continuing collective action in opposition to the plan to expand clinic quotas. Amid this, a post claiming that a mother’s cancer surgery schedule was delayed has appeared online.
On the 16th, a post titled "My mom’s lung cancer surgery was scheduled for next week, but it has been postponed due to the doctors’ strike" was uploaded to an online community.
In protest against the government's plan to increase medical school quotas by 2,000, student representatives from medical schools nationwide have decided to submit leave of absence applications together on the 20th of this month. The photo was taken on the 16th at a medical school in Seoul. [Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@]
The author identified himself as the son of a stage 4 lung cancer patient and claimed that since no more medication could be used, surgery was planned at a hospital in Uijeongbu, but the surgery schedule was suddenly changed.
The "Hospitalization Reservation Notice" posted by the author showed that hospitalization was scheduled for the 19th from 3 to 4 p.m. It was reported that the author’s mother underwent the final pre-surgery tests, including blood sampling, at the hospital on the 16th. However, the attending professor informed them that all doctors except those in the emergency room were on strike and not coming to work, so the surgery could not proceed.
The author expressed frustration, saying, "I saw the news, but I never dreamed something like this would happen to us," and "Is it something a doctor should do to threaten patients’ lives while protecting their own interests?"
The Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA) announced on the 16th that after discussions with resident representatives from the "Big 5" hospitals (Seoul National University Hospital, Severance Hospital, Samsung Medical Center, Asan Medical Center, and Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital), all residents at these hospitals will submit their resignation letters by the 19th and cease work after 6 a.m. on the 20th.
KIRA and representatives from these hospitals held an emergency meeting from 11 p.m. on the 15th to 2 a.m. on the 16th to discuss responses to the government’s medical school quota increase. They also formed an emergency response committee with representatives from the Big 5 hospitals as members and announced plans to survey all training hospitals on participation in submitting resignation letters.
In response, the government appears set to maintain a firm stance against the doctors’ collective action. The Ministry of Health and Welfare has already declared a strong policy of "strict legal response" and completed practical preparations. Upon the start of collective action, a "work commencement order" will be sent to all residents’ contact information to ensure they remain by patients’ sides, and those who do not comply will ultimately have their medical licenses revoked.
On the morning of the 16th, medical staff are moving in a dedicated space for residents at a hospital in Seoul. [Photo by Yonhap News]
According to the Medical Service Act, if medical staff collectively refuse to provide care, a work commencement order can be issued, and failure to comply may result in suspension of qualifications for up to one year or imprisonment for up to three years. Notably, the revised Medical Service Act allows for the cancellation of medical licenses if a doctor is sentenced to imprisonment without prison labor, probation, or suspended sentence for any crime.
Park Min-su, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, stated, "If collective action occurs on site causing medical staff to abandon their posts, a work commencement order will be issued," and added, "All doctors receive their licenses to protect patients’ lives and health, so encouraging, recommending, or inciting collective action is all against the law."
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