Cumulative Number of Returning Residents Reaches 565 on Final Day of Return Deadline

Returnees Increase by 271 People

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the last day of the return deadline, February 29, an additional 271 residents who had been participating in collective action returned to the medical field. This brings the total number of returning residents to 565. Whether the trend of residents returning will become dominant is expected to become clear only after the March 1 holiday weekend.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on March 1, as of 5 p.m. on February 29, the number of residents who returned to the medical field at 100 training hospitals increased by 271 compared to the count at 11 a.m. on the previous day (February 28). The cumulative number of returnees reached 565.

The 100 hospitals used as the standard employ about 95% of the total 13,000 residents. None of their resignation letters have been accepted. Since a significant number of residents had not returned by the government-set return deadline, it appears that there was no large-scale return. However, because the March 1 holiday weekend lasts for three days starting that day, the exact number of returnees is expected to be confirmed only after the holiday ends on March 4.

The government had set February 29 as the return deadline and stated, "From March, for those who have not returned, it is inevitable to proceed with at least a three-month license suspension and judicial procedures such as investigation and prosecution in accordance with law and principles." Accordingly, administrative and legal penalties are expected to intensify starting March 4, after the March 1 holiday weekend.

As the number of returnees increased, the number of absentees decreased. As of 11 a.m. on February 29, the number of residents absent from work at the 100 hospitals was 8,945, accounting for 71.8% of the affiliated residents.

At the same time on the previous day, February 28, 9,076 residents, or 72.8%, were absent from the medical field, showing a decrease of 131 people, or 1.0 percentage point. Although slight, the absentee rate has decreased for three consecutive days up to this count.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Central Accident Response Headquarters for Doctors’ Collective Action held a meeting on the same day, chaired by Director Cho Gyu-hong (Minister of Health and Welfare), to review the status of the doctors’ collective action and the emergency medical system operation plan during the holiday period.