Gov't urges trainee doctors to end walkouts, warns of strong action
A visitor wearing a face mask walks near a banner showing precautions against the coronavirus at the Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020. AP
South Korea repeated its call for trainee doctors to stop walkouts and return to their duties on Saturday as they have entered an indefinite strike in protest of the government's medical workforce reform plan amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The health ministry said it will soon issue a return-to-work order to protesting trainee doctors working at hospitals in the greater Seoul region in a move that could involve stringent punishments, including license revocation, for violators.
Earlier in the day, Health Minister Park Neung-hoo issued a public message calling for trainee doctors to return to their work of treating patients as the country faces a flare-up in virus cases.
"It is time for the medical sector and the government to closely cooperate to stem another wave of the COVID-19 pandemic," Park said.
"We are calling on doctors to return to their work of treating patients," the minister said.
Thousands of trainee doctors, including interns and resident doctors, kicked off unlimited walkouts on Friday on a staggered basis in a bid to protest the government's plan to increase admission quotas at medical schools. A group of doctors also plans to stage a three-day strike starting Wednesday.
The health ministry said about one third of the country's trainee doctors participated in Saturday's strike. Of the 2,996 trainee doctors registered at 244 medical institutes, 932 took part in the collective action, it added.
The figure was lower than the previous day when more than 44 percent of the country's trainee doctors joined the strike, according to the ministry.
Trainee doctors held a one-day strike on Aug. 7 and also participated in doctors' similar walkout a week later.
As part of the country's medical workforce reform plan, the health ministry is planning to expand admission quotas at medical schools by 4,000 over the next 10 years, starting in 2022, and to open a new public medical school as it seeks to broaden the reach of health care services.
This will increase the number of students admitted annually to medical schools to 3,458 in the 2022-2031 period from the current 3,058, according to the plan.
Doctors have opposed what they called the government's "hasty and unilateral" decision.
But their collective actions have spawned concerns about potential disruption in the health care system as the country has reported spiking virus cases in Seoul and surrounding area.
Park said the government is willing to temporarily suspend its push for the medical workforce reform until after the country contains a surge in virus cases in the wider Seoul area.
By end-August, the health ministry is supposed to notify the education ministry of by how many it seeks to increase the number of medical students.
"We plan to suspend the move until the COVID-19 pandemic is brought under control," the ministry said.
South Korea's new daily virus cases topped 300 for the second straight day on Saturday, with more than 2,200 new infections reported in past nine days.
The government warned it is ready to take stern actions if the strike poses a threat to the people's safety and lives.
"If health workers do not return to their duties, the government will take necessary measures," Park said.
The central and provincial governments can issue an order to resume operations when medical workers suspend treatment without due cause or when doctors' collective walkouts disrupt or could hamper the health care system.
A violator of the order could face a prison term of up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won (US$25,220). A medical license could be revoked if a breach of the medical law leads to punishments that are heavier than imprisonment without forced labor.
The Korean Medical Association (KMA), which represents 130,000 doctors, said it will press ahead with the planned strike while slamming the government's move to suspend the reform plan as "political rhetoric that cannot be trusted."
The medical sector has urged the government to recant its medical workforce reform drive as the condition for ending its collective action.
"As long as the government's stance is not changed, doctors will push ahead with the walkout as scheduled," the KMA said.
A group of trainee doctors also called on the government to stop handling the contentious issue in a unilateral manner and instead launch discussions over it. (Yonhap)