South Korean senior doctors from dozens of institutions reportedly planned to resign on Monday, March 25, in solidarity with the medical interns and residents who have been staging a five-week strike over the government's measures to dramatically boost medical school admissions.
Nevertheless, the physicians have said that they would continue to work even after submitting their resignations.
President Yoon Suk Yeol called for negotiations with physicians and suggested a potential easing of punitive measures against the striking junior doctors. However, the doctors' planned action came after this; thus, the odds of an early conclusion to the medical deadlock were equally poor.
South Korea Seeks to Expand Medical School Admissions
Hospitals have canceled hundreds of procedures due to the over 12,000 interns and residents who have refused to halt their strikes. This has resulted in the probable suspension of their licenses.
The physicians reject the government's proposal to double medical school admissions, arguing that schools cannot manage the increase and that it would undermine South Korea's medical services. But, due to the country's poor doctor-to-population ratio and its rapidly aging population, authorities have declared that more physicians are urgently required.
Opponents of the government's plan to increase the number of physicians in South Korea argue that the profession's top earners would see their salaries fall due to the program.
Medical Professors, Doctors Express Solidarity With Striking Physicians
During a meeting with ruling party leader Han Dong-hoon, medical professors and physicians from around 40 university hospitals voiced their support for the striking doctors. Kim Chang-soo, head of the emergency committee at those universities, said that the government's recruitment plan would collapse the country's medical system, ABC News reported.
Kim praised Yoon's offer but stated the government's recruiting strategy must be reversed to end the dispute between the doctors and the government. He said they are willing to address any ongoing concerns with the administration before the public if it plans to retract or consider their proposal.
University physicians are expected to adhere to previous agreements to voluntarily leave and reduce their weekly schedules to 52 hours, which is the maximum number of hours that may be legally worked in a week, according to Kim. After younger physicians leave hospitals, older doctors have struggled with workloads, say observers.
There are 140,000 physicians in South Korea, and the striking junior doctors make up fewer than 10% of that number. However, for training purposes and to aid senior physicians during operations, they make up about 30-40% of the doctors at some large hospitals.
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