Park Dan and Lee Hye-ju Attended the World Medical Association Event
Continue Strong Remarks Demanding the Right to Strike
Overtime Work Criticized... "Hospital Is Concealing It"
Resident doctors who have resigned are demanding doctors' 'right to strike' and are strongly criticizing the government's medical school expansion policy.
On the 17th, Park Dan, the acting chairperson of the Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA), and Lee Hye-ju, former policy director, attended an event hosted by the Young Doctors Network (JDN) under the World Medical Association (WMA), stating, "In Korea, doctors' right to strike is not recognized. It seems that Korean doctors do not have such basic rights."
The event was held at the Korean Medical Association (KMA) building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Lee, who was a third-year thoracic surgery resident before resigning, claimed, "Korea's medical crisis stems from years of poorly managed and inefficient policies," adding, "There continues to be a shortage of doctors in internal medicine, pediatrics, emergency medicine, and cardiology."
Lee also strongly criticized the government's medical school expansion policy and payment system reform measures. He said, "The government's measures will not address the fundamental causes and may worsen the situation," adding, "Simply increasing the number of doctors will not solve the problem." He continued, "Hospitals are struggling with deficits due to a fixed fee system that covers only about 80% of actual costs, and to cope, they hire cheap labor in the form of residents who then graduate," pointing out, "Most residents work beyond the legally mandated maximum of 80 hours per week, sometimes even up to 100 hours."
Lee further noted, "Hospitals, fearing disadvantages, reduce and record residents' working hours, resulting in residents not receiving pay for additional work." Although working hours are legally regulated, in reality, overtime work is concealed to evade legal scrutiny, which is a harmful practice.
Lee also criticized the government's order for doctors to return to work as unfair. He stated, "We exercised our rights within the scope of ensuring patient safety. However, the Korean government abused its power by ordering resigned doctors to return to work and warning that failure to comply could lead to suspension of medical licenses," adding, "To resolve this issue, we requested intervention from the International Labour Organization (ILO) for violation of forced labor conventions, and the ILO responded that it had intervened with government authorities. Nevertheless, the government still maintains the return-to-work order and has taken a tougher stance by suspending the medical licenses of KIRA executive members."
Lee said, "The government ignored our demands for fundamental improvements for years and simply introduced a policy to increase medical school quotas," adding, "Although doctors cannot strike, we submitted resignation letters. It was not easy due to ethical concerns, but your solidarity during these difficult times has been a source of strength."
Meanwhile, as the collective resignation of residents continues into its second month, the residents are demanding, as conditions for their return, a complete reconsideration of the medical school expansion, easing of legal burdens related to medical accidents, guarantee of the right to strike, and dismissal of the Vice Minister of Health and Welfare. On the 16th, resident doctor Ryu Ok-ha answered the question, "What must be prioritized for your return?" by saying, "I have seen many seniors and professors prosecuted and forced to pay compensation while training," adding, "If immunity for good-faith medical practice is not granted, I will not return."
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