Surgery Waited 6 Months... Is the Doctor Waiting for Blood?

Kim Seong-ju, Representative of the Korea Cancer Patient Rights Association
"Doctors, Please Come Back
Patients' Lives Are Ignored, It's Devastating"
Cancer Patients Frustrated Amidst Strong Confrontation

"It feels as if they are waiting for the patients' blood."

On the 21st, the second day since a large number of residents left the hospital, patients' anxiety is increasing, yet the doctors have still not returned to the hospital.

Kim Seong-ju, the representative of the Korea Cancer Patient Rights Association, expressed his frustration in an interview with Asia Economy, pleading with the doctors to "please come back." It was an appeal not to ignore the desperate situation where the lives of cancer patients are at stake.

On the 21st, visitors waiting for medical treatment at a large hospital in Seoul as residents nationwide, including those at the Big 5 hospitals, have been submitting resignation letters and stopping work. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Representative Kim stated, "It is heartbreaking to see that they only show an attitude of not backing down from each other without any concern for patients' lives." He explained that the standoff between the government and the Korean Medical Association (KMA) is threatening patients' lives.

He also questioned, "Who must die before they sit at the negotiation table?" Kim himself is currently undergoing treatment for stage 4 esophageal cancer. The Korea Cancer Patient Rights Association was formed in 2018 to advocate for the rights of various cancer patients. According to Kim, cancer patients are often in critical condition and are directly hit by the medical crisis.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, since 1999, the number of people diagnosed with cancer and either undergoing treatment or cured as of January 2022 reached 2,434,089. Cancer patients nationwide are anxiously watching this situation that concerns their lives.

Kim emphasized, "Surgery schedules for cancer patients are set at university hospitals at least six months in advance. If delayed or canceled, the patients must endure all the pain." This is why not only the patients themselves but also their families are watching the current situation with a heart-wrenching feeling.

For cancer patients who have been counting down to their surgery dates for over half a year, the current situation is a bolt from the blue. It is also why Kim appeals to understand the hearts of those who have been holding on to the thread of hope in a life-or-death crossroads.

Kim Sung-joo, Representative of the Korea Cancer Patient Rights Association.

Kim said, "Patients lack medical knowledge and information, making it impossible to predict their own condition. Ultimately, they feel abandoned by the state and society." He questioned what had been done until the situation reached this point.

He said, "What have the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Medical Association's Medical Issues Council been doing for the past four years? Have these two organizations been preparing to fight all the way to this point?" He appealed to resolve issues such as the concentration of medical infrastructure in the metropolitan area, lack of essential medical services, and emergency room overcrowding, but the situation has reached this state.

Kim urged, "The Ministry of Health and Welfare should come up with measures to prevent problems in medical sites, and doctors must at least maintain staffing levels. If any problems occur to patients, legal responsibility will be held against everyone. Please prevent such incidents from happening."

Meanwhile, following the residents' hospital departure incident, the so-called Big 5 hospitals (Seoul National University, Seoul Asan, Seoul St. Mary's, Shinchon Severance, Samsung Seoul) are experiencing disruptions in surgeries.

According to the National Cancer Registry statistics analysis, the number of new cancer cases in 2021 was 277,523, an increase of 27,002 (10.8%) compared to 2020. Cancer has been the leading cause of death for 40 consecutive years since the Statistics Korea survey began.

Patients nationwide flock to the Big 5 hospitals in Seoul for high-quality medical services. From 2018 to 2022, over one million cancer patients residing outside the metropolitan area received treatment at the Big 5 hospitals.