South Korea’s prime minister, Han Duck-soo, urged doctors not to put people’s lives at risk by resigning in protest of the government’s plan to increase medical school admissions and the number of physicians. Trainee doctors at the country’s five largest hospitals in Seoul have announced their intention to resign on Monday, raising concerns about the potential impact on medical services, particularly emergency and acute care. The Korean Medical Association and medical students have also expressed opposition to the plan, although their intended course of action remains unspecified.
Han stated that any disruption in healthcare services due to doctors leaving their posts would ultimately harm the public. He emphasized that such actions should not be taken, viewing them as holding people’s lives and health hostage.
Doctors and medical students argue that there are already an adequate number of physicians and that increasing doctors would lead to unnecessary medical care and financial strain on the national health insurance plan. They also assert that the plan fails to address the burden on large teaching hospitals and the lack of incentives for doctors to work in critical healthcare areas like paediatrics, obstetrics, and emergency medicine.
However, the government contends that the country urgently needs to begin training new doctors, anticipating a shortage of 15,000 physicians by 2035. The plan entails increasing medical school admissions by 2,000 students for the 2025 academic year and adding 10,000 doctors by 2035, with around 3,000 students currently entering medical schools annually.
The government’s plan also aims to ensure an adequate number of doctors practicing in rural areas, as well as to enhance legal protection against malpractice suits and prosecution. The health ministry reported that 715 trainee doctors had already submitted their resignation as of Friday and issued a back-to-work order, warning of consequences for noncompliance.
The mass resignation plan by trainee doctors from the five largest hospitals would involve approximately 2,700 doctors, constituting about a fifth of the country’s medical interns and resident doctors. The prime minister’s plea comes as tensions continue to rise between the government and the medical community over the proposed changes.
