Trainee doctors to return to hospitals this week, raising hopes of medical vacuum relief
A medical staff enters an area reserved for trainee doctors at a hospital in Seoul, Aug. 11. Yonhap
Trainee doctors who quit their jobs in protest of the previous administration's increase of medical school admissions are set to return to hospitals this week, raising hopes of easing the medical service vacuum, industry sources said Sunday.
Their return on Monday comes after the second-half recruitment process mostly wrapped up last week, with the exact number of new or returning trainee doctors to be announced by the health ministry in the coming days.
At Seoul's "big 5" hospitals, the application rate came to 60 to 80 percent, filling about 70 percent of the quota at each hospital.
The trainee doctors' return is expected to ease the work burden at hospitals, which are known to have relied heavily on the trainees before they launched their protest early last year.
Medical services that had been suspended may resume in the near future, while waiting time at hospitals may also be expected to be shortened.
The standoff began in February 2024, when thousands of trainee doctors walked off their jobs while many medical students boycotted classes in protest against the government's plan to increase medical school admissions by 2,000 to around 5,000 each year starting in 2025.
Medical students and now trainee doctors decided to end their collective action after the government reversed course earlier this year, restoring the 2026 admissions quota to its previous level of about 3,000.
Medical industry workers say challenges will still remain, as more trainee doctors opt to work in hospitals in the capital area over those outside the capital region, and shun essential fields, such as emergency rooms, pediatrics and obstetrics.