Resident Doctors' Return Discussions Accelerate as Three Key Demands to Government Are Finalized

Before discussing their return to hospitals amid ongoing conflicts between the medical community and the government, resident doctors have finalized a list of demands, including improvements to the training environment and guarantees for the continuity of their training.

Hansungjon, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the Korean Intern Resident Association (left), is giving a greeting at the Temporary Delegate General Meeting of the Intern Resident Association held at the Korean Medical Association Auditorium in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the 19th. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the medical community on July 20, the Emergency Response Committee of the Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA) held a temporary delegate general meeting at the Korean Medical Association building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, the previous day and approved the list of demands.

The attending delegates passed three key demands with 124 out of 138 votes in favor: the formation of a consultative body led by field experts to review the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's essential medical policy package; improvements to the training environment and guarantees for the continuity of residency training; and the establishment of a discussion body to ease the legal burden related to medical accidents.

This is the first time in one year and four months that resident doctors, who left hospitals in February last year in protest against the government's plan to increase medical school admissions by 2,000, have officially presented their demands through KIRA. Hansungjon, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of KIRA, stated, "These demands will form the core agenda for official dialogue with the government."

KIRA also announced that, during the general meeting, it was decided to gather opinions on practical measures for the development of regional healthcare and to deliver these through future forums and discussions. The association added that it would actively engage in discussions with related organizations such as the Korean Medical Association, the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences, the Korean Association of Training Hospitals, and the National Council of Medical School Professors to improve the training environment.

With the resident doctors having finalized their demands, discussions regarding their return among residents, the government, political circles, and training hospitals are expected to accelerate.

Jeong Eun-kyeong, nominee for Minister of Health and Welfare, stated at the National Assembly confirmation hearing the previous day that, regarding the return of resident doctors, "The Ministry of Health and Welfare will establish a training consultative body and proceed with discussions swiftly."