Dan Park, Who Said "I Have No Intention of Returning to the Hospital," Applies for Second Half Recruitment at Severance

Dan Park Spoke Out Against Yoon Administration's Medical School Policy
Resigned From Emergency Committee in June Amid Prolonged Conflict
Residents Move to Return... Applies to Severance Hospital for Second Half

Dan Park, former acting chairman of the Korean Intern Resident Association, who led the hardline protests of resigning residents in opposition to the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's plan to increase medical school admissions, has reportedly applied for the second half residency recruitment at Severance Hospital. According to Munhwa Ilbo on the 21st, Severance Hospital stated, "Former acting chairman Park applied to the Severance Department of Emergency Medicine." Severance Hospital accepted residency applications for the second half of the year until this day.

Dan Park, former acting chairman of the Korean Intern Resident Association. Photo by Yongjun Cho jun21@

Last February, Park resigned from his position as a second-year resident in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Severance Hospital in protest against the government's healthcare policies. After being elected president of the Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA) in 2023, he served as acting chairman until June this year, following KIRA's transition to an emergency committee system last year. In addition, he joined the executive board of the Korean Medical Association, which launched in January, serving concurrently as vice president and voicing strong opposition amid ongoing conflicts with the government.

However, as the conflict between the medical community and the government dragged on, calls for Park's accountability grew, and internal discord intensified as representatives of residents at major hospitals expressed their intention to return to work. At the time, representatives of residents at Seoul National University Hospital and others publicly criticized Park. In their statement, they pointed out, "He has made communication between residents and negotiating parties difficult," and "His posts, which have lost neutrality, have deepened divisions within the medical community."

In response, Park announced in June through a notice sent to the delegates' council-composed of representatives from training hospitals nationwide-"I intend to step down from all positions. Over the past year and a half, I did my best despite my shortcomings, but I only brought disappointment," adding, "I sincerely hope this situation will be resolved as soon as possible."

However, after submitting his resignation last year, Park had stated on social media that "I have no intention of returning (to the hospital)." After a 120-minute meeting with President Yoon, he said, "There is no future for healthcare in Korea," and strongly criticized the government, stating, "Thanks to these disastrous policies that completely ignore the realities on the ground, I was able to give up my dream of becoming a pediatric emergency medicine subspecialist without any regrets."

According to Yonhap News on the 21st, approximately 70-80% of the available residency positions at the 'Big Five' hospitals, including Seoul National University Hospital, received applications for the second half of the year. However, application rates remained low in essential medical fields such as pediatrics, emergency medicine, and obstetrics and gynecology.