China News Service, March 25 (Xinhua) -- According to comprehensive Korean media reports, on the 25th local time, the South Korean government welcomed the medical community's readiness for constructive dialogue, and at the same time will insist on advancing the medical reform plan. Professors from medical departments across South Korea began to resign collectively on the 25th to show their opposition to the government’s enrollment expansion policy.
According to Yonhap News Agency, on the 25th, when presiding over a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters in response to collective actions by the medical community, South Korea’s Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong said that relevant government departments have begun preparations for dialogue with the medical community to create a relationship between the government and the medical community as soon as possible. Opportunities for face-to-face dialogue. He also said that the Korean government will insist on completing the medical reform based on the enrollment expansion plan.
According to Korea International Broadcasting Station (KBS), the Emergency Countermeasures Committee of the National Association of Medical University Professors (Medical Education Association) issued a statement on the 25th that it will submit a letter of resignation. Medical students from 19 universities including Seoul National University, Korea University, Yonsei University, and Ulsan University Department professors participated in signing the statement.
Professors from Korea University Medical School held a meeting on the morning of the 25th and submitted their resignations. Yonsei University School of Medicine professors will collectively submit their resignations on behalf of the Emergency Response Committee at 6 p.m. local time. Professors from the Department of Medicine at Seoul National University will also hold an emergency meeting to discuss the time to submit their resignations.
Yonhap News Agency reported that in addition to the 19 universities that signed the statement, professors from other medical schools in South Korea will also resign one after another. Nearly a hundred professors in some medical schools have resigned collectively.
According to reports, the professor who resigned will leave his internship hospital and medical school after completing the patient diagnosis and treatment he is responsible for that day.
KBS reported that the Emergency Countermeasures Committee of the Medical Education Association stated that two prerequisites must be observed before dialogue can begin. The first is to cancel judicial measures against resident and intern doctors and restore their reputation; the second is to establish a consultation mechanism among the medical community, including the government, resident and intern doctors, to formulate medical policies in the Republic of Korea such as expanding enrollment in the medical department based on scientific evidence.
Yonhap News Agency reported that the collective resignation has not yet caused chaos to major hospitals such as Seoul's five major hospitals. Analysts say that after the 27th, the impact of collective resignations may gradually appear. At present, several major hospitals have not yet reduced their outpatient services.
According to previous reports, the South Korean government announced earlier in February that in order to solve the problem of doctor shortage, the enrollment scale of university medical schools in the 2025 academic year will increase from the current 3,058 to 5,058 students. The plan was strongly opposed by doctors' groups and medical students, and prompted mass resignations from resident physicians.
At present, the South Korean government has sent advance notices of administrative sanctions such as revocation of medical licenses to thousands of interns and resident doctors who have left their jobs on strike. Starting this week, the South Korean government will revoke the medical licenses of doctors who violate orders to return to work as planned.