Doctors staging a rally against the government's medical policy near the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea on Feb 15, 2024. - AP
SEOUL: A South Korean doctors labour group warned the government of catastrophic consequences if it follows through on threats to punish medical students and trainees who plan to resign en masse on Monday (Feb 19).
About 2,700 interns and residents at five major general hospital groups plan to walk off the job on Tuesday after submitting resignation letters the previous day to oppose a government plan to drastically increase medical degree quotas in universities. They account for 37% of the total doctors at the hospitals, Yonhap News said.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Sunday urged the doctors to refrain from the collective labour action as it could jeopardise lives. The government said it would respond firmly and in accordance with laws if they decide to go on strike.
"We will face medical catastrophe if the government tries to punish the actions of medical students and trainees based on their free will by placing an unconstitutional frame on it,” the Korea Medical Association, a labour group representing about 15,000 doctors, said in a statement. Han’s comments are "nothing more than an excuse to suppress and punish doctors’ autonomous actions,” it said
The administration of President Yoon Suk-yeol has proposed increasing the current enrollment cap at universities offering medical degrees by 2,000 slots from 3,058 currently to reverse a shortage of doctors. The cap has been unchanged since 2006.
South Korea has one of the lowest ratios of doctors to population in the developed world, according to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which shows 2.6 doctors per 1,000 people.
A survey suggests the public agrees with the government in the matter and a tough stance by Yoon could help build support among voters who have grown frustrated with long waiting times to see a physician.
A weekly tracking poll released by Gallup Korea on Friday showed 76% of respondents had positive views of the quota plan while only 16% see it as negative.
The government had previously attempted to increase the medical school quota, but bowed to pressure in 2020 when 80% of trainee doctors staged a strike for about a month amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
The government in theory is able to use the Medical Services Act to revoke the licences of doctors over prolonged labour actions that threaten the health-care system.
The Korea Medical Association contends increasing the number of people with medical degrees would not remedy fundamental problems in the system, which include having a disproportionate number of doctors in urban areas and a lack of specialists in disciplines seen as lower paying. -Bloomberg
