Jung Daebon "Suspension of Clinic Closures, the Right Decision... Problems Should Be Solved Through Dialogue with the Medical Community"

Minister Lee Sang-min of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety Chairs Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting
"The Way to Resolve Conflicts Is Dialogue, Not Suspension of Work"

The government welcomed the decision by university hospitals to suspend and postpone their strike, emphasizing the need to resolve conflicts through dialogue.

Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the 2nd Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters for the doctors' collective action, held a meeting at the Government Seoul Office on the 27th and stated, "The way to normalize the chaos in the medical field and resolve conflicts and issues is not an indefinite strike but dialogue."

Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min is attending and speaking at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting related to the medical professionals' collective action held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 27th. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

Minister Lee also said regarding some university hospitals stopping their ongoing strike and postponing the announced strike, "This decision is a correct one made by doctors who prioritize patients' lives and health above all else." Earlier, Seoul National University Hospital began an indefinite strike on the 17th but stopped it after five days. Seoul St. Mary's Hospital and Samsung Seoul Hospital decided to postpone their strikes.

Minister Lee appealed, "Recently, the Medical Association formed a 'Special Committee for Proper Medical Care' and expressed willingness to dialogue with the government. The government's position to actively engage in dialogue at any time and in any form remains unchanged. The government hopes for medical reform together with the medical community."

However, he strongly refuted some claims that "medical reform would rather regress medical care." Minister Lee emphasized, "The unfortunate point is that some parts of the medical community still unilaterally make false claims and refuse dialogue. Given that terms like emergency room 'round-robin' and pediatric 'open run' have become everyday language, doctors themselves know better than anyone that our medical system is unsustainable."

Minister Lee also firmly expressed his intention to improve the training environment for residents. He said, "Since May, we have been implementing a pilot project to reduce continuous working hours for residents, and through the Special Committee on Medical Reform, we are discussing ways to reduce residents' working hours, currently capped at 80 hours per week. We hope the medical community actively participates from the discussion stage and provides scientific and rational opinions."