Advance Administrative Disposition Notices Sent to 4,944 People
‘Resident Protection and Reporting Center’ Operating from the 12th
"Protecting Residents Who Wish to Return"
Amid nearly 12,000 resident doctors leaving their workplaces in protest against the government's increase in medical school admissions, the government has sent preliminary administrative penalty notices, including license suspensions, to about 5,000 of them. Starting tomorrow (the 12th), a 'Resident Protection and Reporting Center' will be operated to protect residents who do not participate in collective actions and wish to stay at or return to medical sites. The government plans to show leniency to residents who return before the administrative penalties are finalized.
On the 11th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that as of 11 a.m. on the 8th, among 12,912 residents at 100 training hospitals, 11,994 residents had either abandoned their contracts or left their workplaces, accounting for 92.9%.
On the 7th, visitors at a university hospital in Seoul lined up to register for chemotherapy injections as large hospitals began downsizing operations by reducing the number of beds and staff. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@
The government is sequentially sending preliminary administrative penalty notices to residents who violated the order to commence work. As of the 8th, a total of 4,944 preliminary notices had been sent.
From the 12th, the Resident Protection and Reporting Center will also be operated. This center aims to protect residents who are not participating in collective actions and are either maintaining medical sites or wish to return.
The government plans to protect these residents from direct or indirect disadvantages they may face from their surroundings, allowing them to safely maintain medical sites. Through the Resident Protection and Reporting Center, residents in need of protection will be identified, and if the reporter wishes, protective measures such as reassignment to other training hospitals will be implemented. Additionally, the government plans to actively protect reporters by regularly monitoring whether any disadvantages occur to them afterward. A hotline will be established on the same day to receive damage reports via phone or text message, and from tomorrow (the 12th), a direct number for reporting will be provided.
The government has stated that it will promptly request investigations into illegal acts that encourage collective actions or pressure residents not to return to medical sites, and will respond according to law and principles.
Regarding residents who have left the sites, the government said it will show maximum leniency if they return before the administrative penalties are finalized.
On the same day, Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong appeared on KBS radio and said, "We will show maximum leniency to residents who return before the administrative penalty (license suspension) procedures are completed."
Minister Cho emphasized, "We are proceeding with preliminary notification procedures for residents confirmed not to have returned through on-site inspections. We plan to actively show leniency to residents who return before the administrative procedures are completed, and we hope the residents will return soon."
Jeon Byung-wang, the 1st Controller of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Director of Health and Medical Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare), also explained at the Central Disaster Headquarters briefing that day, "If residents return before the administrative penalty notice or while the administrative penalty is in progress, they can be considered differently from those who have not returned until the penalty is imposed. In fact, when imposing penalties, various explanations and periods will be taken into account."
He added, "It can be interpreted as meaning that the path is being opened a bit more for early return."
Jeon also said, "Since the periods of absence differ, treating everyone the same in penalties is a matter to consider in terms of fairness. The administrative penalty will actually involve license suspension, but there is a difference between residents who return before and after that. It would be good if they return as soon as possible to stay by the patients' side," urging the residents.
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