[Report] Residents Who Never Returned... Patients Left Anxiously Waiting

Government and Medical Sector in Standoff
Confusion Grows Among Big 5 Hospitals
"Patient Lives Held Hostage, Unacceptable"
"Blaming Doctors Only Harms the Public"

As residents leave hospitals and do not return, even the 'Big 5' hospitals are selectively accepting emergency patients, intensifying confusion in the medical field. With the ongoing 'strong versus strong' standoff between the government and the medical community, hospital waiting times are also increasing.

Amid the ongoing standoff between the government and the medical community over the increase in medical school admissions, medical staff are moving at a large hospital in Seoul on the 29th of last month, the government's deadline for residents who left the hospital to return. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

At 7:30 a.m. on the 4th at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital of the Catholic University in Seocho-gu, Seoul, most patients were waiting at the hospital before consultation hours began. Choi (76) said, "I came early today for dialysis," and complained, "It is unacceptable that doctors are playing with patients' lives like this."

Seong (62), who came for a blood test, said, "Aren't the doctors just protecting their own interests? No matter how much they fight with the government, they should still treat patients," adding, "I believe this will be the starting point for becoming a developed country. Increasing the number of doctors will benefit the public."

Voices criticizing the government over the prolonged medical crisis also emerged. Kim (70) said, "Waiting times are getting longer and it's inconvenient. But it seems the government is trying to increase medical school quotas hastily," and pointed out, "If they increase the numbers drastically at once, there will be side effects. They need to reach an agreement with the medical community; blaming doctors entirely will only make things harder for the public."

At the same time, the situation was similar at Severance Hospital in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Yoon (84), who visits the hospital monthly for diabetes check-ups, said, "Doctors are supposed to be beside patients, but can those who abandoned patients really be called doctors?" and criticized, "Even if doctors who left the hospital return, those who once abandoned patients for their own benefit are not doctors."

There is also a view that the government should gather doctors' opinions. Choi (55), who visited the hospital for a regular check-up of a child who had kidney cancer surgery, said, "The government should increase the number of doctors gradually so that doctors can accept it, but it seems they are pushing a hasty policy with excessive numbers considering the upcoming general election. Increasing the number of doctors is not necessarily always good for patients."

A patient in their 50s who has been visiting this hospital annually for 15 years for treatment of a rare incurable disease said, "Screening patients have not yet had their treatments delayed, but it is true that I worry about what will happen if the situation drags on," adding, "I understand why doctors are resisting because the government is recklessly trying to increase the number of doctors. It seems the policy is being pushed too hastily."

On the 4th, the first working day after the deadline for residents to return set by the government, Cho Kyu-hong, Minister of Health and Welfare, who attended the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters video meeting on the doctors' collective action held at the Seoul Government Complex, is speaking. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

The first-floor reception at Samsung Medical Center was also crowded with waiting patients from the morning. Kim (73), who has been visiting the hospital for five years due to lung disease, said, "To be honest, I was very disappointed with the doctors this time," and added, "No country’s doctors abandon patients and leave, so I hope Korean doctors mature through this opportunity."

Hyun (43), who visited the hospital for liver disease, said, "No matter how unfair the situation, doctors should not have used patients' lives as a hostage," but also expressed suspicion, saying, "The government's sudden plan to increase medical school quotas by 2,000 is also suspicious."

Meanwhile, Cho Gyu-hong, the first deputy head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) for doctors' collective action (Minister of Health and Welfare), stated on the 4th that many residents have not returned to medical sites and that legal measures such as license suspensions will be implemented without hesitation to protect public lives. Since about 9,000 residents did not return by the return deadline on the 29th of last month, and even by the 3rd, when the government promised leniency, there is concern over an unprecedented large-scale license suspension crisis.