SEOUL — In a dramatic escalation of ongoing health sector disputes, medical professors across South Korea are contemplating collective resignations to urge government intervention in the continuing trainee doctors' strike, as announced by a medical professors' group on Wednesday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, an online meeting held Tuesday night saw medical professors from 19 universities, including Seoul National University and Yonsei University, form a joint emergency response committee. This committee resolved to decide by Friday whether their members will collectively resign. The move aims to pressure the government into finding a solution to the trainee doctors' extended walkout, now impacting medical services nationwide.
The collective action threat follows decisions by faculty at Seoul National University and the University of Ulsan Medical Schools to resign en masse next week unless the government presents a "reasonable breakthrough." With the emergency committee's formation, it is anticipated that more professors from other institutions may join the mass resignation movement.
This crisis comes amid deepening tensions between the government and the medical community over a proposal to increase medical school admissions by 2,000 seats to address doctor shortages, particularly in rural areas and specific medical specialties. The plan has led to over three weeks of strikes, with more than 90 percent of the country's 13,000 intern and resident doctors abstaining from their hospital duties and thousands of medical students taking leaves of absence in protest.
The government's steadfast commitment to the enrollment increase, coupled with actions to suspend the medical licenses of protesting trainee doctors, has only intensified the standoff. Medical professors warn that the ongoing strikes and student protests could significantly disrupt medical education and training, leading to potential failures and a further strain on healthcare services.
Amidst the crisis, the proposed mass resignation by medical professors could severely impact healthcare delivery, already weakened by the trainee doctors' absence. While some view the professors' threatened collective resignation as a strategic move to pressure the government, patients and their families are becoming increasingly concerned about the potential consequences for their medical care.
One patient, scheduled for thyroid surgery in Seoul, voiced her anxiety about the unfolding situation and the uncertainty surrounding her upcoming operation, highlighting the personal toll of the ongoing healthcare crisis. Reports indicate significant patient impact due to the strike, with hundreds of delayed surgeries and numerous cancellations or denials of medical treatments recorded.