Residents Who Announced Mass Resignation Share Response Methods on SNS
Government: "Work Start Order via Text... Will Take Legal Action"
On the 20th, amid the continued collective resignation of residents protesting the government's plan to increase medical school admissions, it has been reported that they are sharing methods to respond to the government's work commencement orders through social networking services (SNS). On that day, a post titled "Interns and Residents Must Read! How to Respond to the Work Commencement Order?" was spreading on SNS.
On the 19th, concerns over a "medical crisis" due to collective opposition from doctors, including the mass resignation of residents from the five major hospitals in Korea in protest against the government's expansion of medical school quotas, were rising. The photo shows a university hospital in downtown Seoul. Some residents in departments such as Pediatrics at Severance Hospital decided to submit their resignation letters and suspend work a day earlier. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
The post contains "tips" on how to respond depending on the type of delivery when the government issues a work commencement order to doctors who have stopped providing medical services, how to write resignation reasons, and whether to renew contracts with hospitals. Earlier, the Ministry of Health and Welfare emphasized that once the collective resignation of residents begins, work commencement orders will be delivered to their contact information, and those who fail to comply will be strictly punished.
According to Article 59 of the Medical Service Act, the Minister of Health and Welfare or the mayor/governor of a city/province may issue necessary guidance and orders to medical institutions or medical personnel if it is necessary for health care policy or if there is a significant risk or occurrence of harm to public health. The government is expected to file criminal charges for violations of the Medical Service Act if residents violate this. If the court deems the act illegal, penalties may include imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won.
However, in previous precedents, the issuance of a work commencement order by the government did not immediately take effect. The order only becomes effective when the doctors receive the order directly, so legal disputes may arise over whether the order was properly delivered. In 2020, when residents refused to provide medical services in opposition to the increase in medical school admissions, the government delivered the order through the hospital training director. At that time, some residents responded by turning off their mobile phones.
However, this time the government announced that it has completed legal review regarding delivery. To avoid controversy over delivery, the order is being delivered through three methods: text message, mail, and notification via the training director. The Administrative Procedures Act, which serves as the basis for delivering the work commencement order, was amended in 2022 to include the provision that "when urgent disposition is necessary for public safety or welfare, disposition may be made by non-document methods such as text transmission, fax, or email."
As the medical service gap became a reality with thousands of residents submitting resignation letters at major hospitals nationwide, including the "Big 5" in the metropolitan area (Seoul National University, Severance, Seoul Asan, Samsung Seoul, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital), the government issued a "medical service maintenance order" to residents nationwide the day before. Park Min-su, the 2nd Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, stated that "Along with the medical service maintenance order to not leave the hospital, work commencement orders were delivered via text messages to those who left the hospital. If they do not return, legal action will be taken."
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