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Doctors, medical students step up protests against med school quota hike
Doctors take off white gowns in protest of the government's plan to increase the number of medical students, at a rally in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, Thursday. Yonhap
By Jun Ji-hye
Government says it is open to discussion, but hike plan will not change
Doctors and medical students are elevating their protests against the government’s plan to raise the annual enrollment quota at medical schools starting next year. Some junior doctors have already submitted a resignation letter or expressed a willingness to quit, while some medical students vowed to take a leave of absence en masse.
Nevertheless, the government maintained its strong stance, making it clear that its plan to increase the quota at 40 medical schools across the county to 5,058 from the current 3,058 will not change and that it will respond sternly to any collective action in accordance with laws and principles.
The government said the decision was aimed at addressing shortages of doctors and improving public access to medical services. Meanwhile, doctors and medical students raised concerns that expanding the number of placements for medical schools could adversely affect the quality of education and training.
On Thursday, representatives of Hallym University’s College of Medicine announced that the school's fourth-year students agreed unanimously to take a leave of absence en masse for a year in protest of the government’s quota hike plan.
An association of medical students of 40 medical schools also announced a plan to carry out a survey over whether to join the move and take a one-year leave of absence.
Students of Hallym University’s College of Medicine walk down a hallway of the school in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, Thursdasy. Yonhap
According to Wonkwang University Hospital, seven trainee doctors there have submitted resignation letters. However, they did not provide a clear explanation for their decision.
"We will decide later whether to accept their resignations," a hospital official said.
This came after Park Dan, head of the Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA), an association of interns and resident doctors, said earlier in the day that he decided to abandon training and stop being a doctor.
“I will submit a resignation letter next Tuesday,” he wrote on social media. “I can no longer put up with depression caused by deaths that I frequently face and fears over medical disputes, in addition to an 80-hour workweek and low wages.”
Park said he will also resign as head of KIRA, as his status as a trainee doctor will end after he quits his job.
Two days earlier, another junior doctor, who said is an intern working at Daejeon St. Mary’s Hospital and set to become a resident doctor in orthopedics, also expressed an intention to quit through a YouTube channel.
"I thought I could no longer continue this job at this time that is full of hostility and anger against doctors," he said.
According to the hospital, he submitted his resignation letter the next day, but the hospital did not accept it.
Amid growing concerns that other trainee doctors could also move toward a collective submission of letters of resignation, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said it will mobilize all available means to prevent the actions by some from developing into full-scale collective action.
The ministry has already warned of stern repercussions for doctors participating in collective action, including the possibility of license revocations. It also prohibited teaching hospitals from accepting mass resignations from trainee doctors.
Regarding medical students’ move toward taking a leave of absence en masse, Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo expressed his regret. “We will consult with the Ministry of Education to persuade the students," he said during a media briefing on Thursday.
“The government can discuss anything [with doctors and medical students], but we are firm in the scale of the enrollment quota expansion and its timing.”
Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo speaks during a briefing at the Government Complex Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap
Commenting on concerns that doctors' collective action may threaten patients' safety, Park said the government will address the concerns by fully expanding telemedicine services and mobilizing physician assistants (PAs).
PAs in Korea refer to skilled nurses with several years of experience.
Later in the day, the Korean Medical Association (KMA), the nation's largest coalition of doctors, held nationwide rallies to protest the planned enrollment quota hike.
The KMA, which has threatened to stage a nationwide strike, is set to hold a meeting on Saturday to discuss its future actions.