SEOUL, The health ministry on Tuesday called for trainee doctors to avert looming collective actions in protest of a plan to increase the number of medical students by 2,000, as an association of trainee doctors formed an emergency committee to respond to the plan.
Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo also said the government was “relieved” as an association of trainee doctors made no announcement about its collective actions after all-night discussions earlier in the day.
“We urge doctors to make a resolute decision to protect the patients by their side,” Park told reporters. “The government will continue to make efforts to reform the medical sector to make hospitals a sustainable workplace.”
Overnight, the Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA), a major doctors’ organization, convened a meeting of representatives to discuss their actions over the planned increase in the medical school enrollment quota.
Later on Tuesday, KIRA announced the resignation of its entire executive board, forming an eme
rgency committee to address the issue.
The organization, however, refrained from disclosing details about its upcoming actions, including collective measures.
Meanwhile, the Korea Medical Association, another doctors’ lobby group, earlier declared its intention to organize nationwide protest rallies on Thursday.
“I am relieved that there is no announcement on plans to engage in collective actions (by KIRA),” Park said, calling for doctors not to take advantage of patients’ lives through collective leave or resignations.
Doctors and the government have shown signs of heading for a collision course over last week’s decision to add 2,000 to the country’s medical school enrollment quota next year, a sharp rise from the current 3,058 seats.
South Korea has been pushing to raise the quota amid the country’s chronic shortage of doctors in crucial areas, as medical professionals tend to prefer practicing in nonessential areas with lower risks.
On Monday, the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol said that the gover
nment’s decision to increase the medical school quota is “irreversible,” denouncing doctors’ threats of collective action as unjustifiable.
Source: Yonhap News Agency
