Minister Cho Kyuhong: "Considering May Return for Resigned Residents If They Wish" (Update)

Urging Medical Students to Return to Classes

The government plans to open a path for resigned resident doctors to return to their training hospitals as early as this month.

Yonhap News Agency

On May 7, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced, "We are currently discussing with training hospitals to allow additional returns for residents who wish to come back, separate from the regular recruitment schedule, so that they can return within this month."

Typically, resident training programs begin in March and September for the first and second halves of the year, respectively. However, the government plans to hold an additional recruitment round to allow those who wish to return before the regular recruitment for the second half.

Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyuhong stated, "If the intention of resigned residents to return to their training hospitals is confirmed, we will actively consider measures to enable their return even within May." He also requested, "We urge residents, as key stakeholders, to actively voice their opinions on pressing issues such as improving the training environment."

Residents collectively resigned in February last year in protest against the government's plan to increase the medical school quota by 2,000. Since then, only a very small number have returned during the special recruitment rounds for the second half of last year and the first half of this year, which included special training and military service exemptions. As of now, after the first half recruitment this year, there are 1,672 residents in training nationwide, which is just 12.4% of the level before the medical-government conflict.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare had maintained until recently that there would be no further additional recruitment or special exemptions during the first half of this year. However, as more senior residents have recently expressed a desire to return, the ministry has reportedly decided to proactively consider additional recruitment.

Residents cannot take the specialist exam if their training gap exceeds three months. Therefore, senior residents must return within this month to be eligible for next year's specialist exam. If they return during the second half recruitment, they would have to wait an entire additional year to take the exam.

Recently, there has been a growing number of resigned residents expressing their desire to return. Since May 4, Lim Jinsu, former Director of Planning at the Korean Medical Association and a resigned resident, has been conducting a survey to gauge interest in the May additional recruitment. So far, about 80% of the roughly 100 respondents have answered that they intend to return.

However, a significant number of resigned residents are currently working at other medical institutions, such as clinics, and it is known that many junior residents have given up on training altogether. Therefore, even if the May recruitment becomes a reality, it remains uncertain how many residents will actually return.

Meanwhile, Minister Cho also urged medical students who have left school to return to their classes as soon as possible, pledging, "The government will do its utmost to support classes and protect students in order to normalize medical education."