Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Sunday hinted at the possible suspension of medical licenses for striking trainee doctors amid no signs of an end to a deepening standoff with the government over the medical school admission quota.

About 9,000 medical interns and residents, who play a vital role in assisting with surgeries and emergency services at major general hospitals, have maintained their labor action for nearly two weeks, defying the government’s Thursday deadline for their return.

On Sunday, some 20,000 doctors from across the nation held a rally at Yeouido Park in western Seoul at 2 p.m. to protest the government’s plan to raise the medical school admission quota by 2,000 beginning next year.

“If the situation of illegally vacating medical sites continues, the government will fulfill the duty entrusted by the Constitution and the law without hesitation,” Han said at a meeting on the doctors’ collective action at the main government building in central Seoul.

The presidential office also vowed to r
espond with “zero tolerance” after allegations emerged online that some doctors were trying to forcibly mobilize drug salesmen for their rally protesting the government’s medical school quota hike plan.

Ahead of Sunday’s rally, several postings appeared on online communities, claiming that some doctors were forcing salesmen of pharmaceutical companies to join the gathering.

Salesmen of pharmaceutical companies are often under the sway of doctors who have the authority to prescribe or change certain drugs. A posting said, “I am being forcibly mobilized because a doctor I trade with said he will change drugs if I do not show up.”

Responding to the allegations, the presidential office warned “any illegal acts will be dealt with the principle of zero tolerance.”

A presidential official told Yonhap News Agency, “We are watching the situation in real time with regard to the threats to the public’s lives and health rights from the doctors’ collective action.”

Officials said police launched a legal review of the
allegations, saying the allegations, if found to be true, could constitute illegal coercion and violations of the Medical Service Act.

Separately, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min renewed back-to-work calls on trainee doctors, saying that trainee doctors will be granted leniency if they return to their hospitals by Sunday.

Lee made the remarks during his appearance on a live news program with KBS, as thousands of intern and resident doctors have remained off their jobs at general hospitals nationwide for the 13th day on Sunday in protest of the quota hike plan.

The government gave protesting doctors until last Thursday to return to work, warning them that incompliance could result in punitive action, including criminal punishment or revocation of their doctors’ licenses.

So far, the warning has done little to bring them back to work.

“For trainee doctors who return to work by today, the government plan to grant utmost leniency … if they fail to return by today, the government has no choice but to deal wi
th them sternly in accordance with the law and principles,” Lee said.

The minister stressed that the increase of 2,000 additional medical school admissions is not substantial given the workforce required for the development of the bio industry, which he said will emerge as a new growth engine of South Korea.

Source: Yonhap News Agency