Doctors rally nationwide against medical school quota hike

Doctors nationwide rallied against the government plan to expand medical school admissions on Thursday. “The plan is a populist policy that has been haphazardly put together to win votes in the general election,” said a doctor in a rally joined...

Doctors protest the government plan to expand medical school admissions before the People Power Party's office in Ulsan on Thursday. [YONHAP]

Doctors nationwide rallied against the government plan to expand medical school admissions on Thursday.

“The plan is a populist policy that has been haphazardly put together to win votes in the general election,” said a doctor in a rally joined by some 120 doctors in front of the Gangwon Provincial Office.

“The problem is not with the number of medical professionals,” said another doctor protesting at a rally before the People Power Party’s Daejeon office on Thursday. “The problem is that departments like obstetrics, gynecology and surgery are being avoided due to ridiculously low prices of medical procedures and due to threats by patients to sue doctors.”

Similar rallies took place in Ulsan, North Chungcheong and North Jeolla on Thursday afternoon, with more scheduled through the evening in Gwangju, South Jeolla, the Gyeongsang regions and Seoul.

However, the rallies all took place during lunch or after working hours — a point appreciated by the Health Ministry, which has been monitoring the situation since doctors threatened collective action over the medical school quota hike.

Doctors rally in the rain in a square in Jeon-dong in Jeonju, North Jeolla, on Thursday. [YONHAP]

“Because these rallies by the Korean Medical Association [KMA] members are being held outside of working hours, we see them as a legitimate way for doctors to express their thoughts and opinions,” Park Min-soo, second vice minister of health, told reporters on Thursday.

He warned, however, that any collective action “threatening the life and health of patients” faces legal action that could, in some cases, lead to permanent revocation of medical licenses.

The KMA, the largest doctors’ group in the country, is scheduled to meet this coming Saturday to decide their next course of action.

The Yoon Suk Yeol government announced last week that it would increase the medical school enrollment quota by 2,000 next year, marking the first hike since 1998, to ensure medical services are provided equally throughout the country, especially in rural areas.

The decision sparked a fierce backlash among doctors, who claim that fixing the current system, including better salaries, would be more effective in encouraging doctors to work in rural areas and less popular essential medical fields.

They held a general strike in 2020 for the same reason, leading to a nationwide paralysis of the medical system.

The doctors’ strikes were coordinated with interns and residents, many of them members of the Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA).

On Wednesday, the Health Ministry asked doctors to stop encouraging protests by young interns and residents.

The KIRA has not announced it intends to take collective action this time.

However, its president, Park Dan, resigned from Severance Hospital on Thursday.

He cited personal reasons for his resignation and asked the rest of the association to “not take any collective action” in a letter he posted on his Facebook account on Thursday.

His action was preceded by the resignation of an intern at Daejeon St. Mary's Hospital.

Intern Hong Jae-woo of Daejeon St. Mary's Hospital shows his medical license in a video he uploaded on YouTube announcing his decision to resign on Tuesday. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The intern, Hong Jae-woo, posted a YouTube video about his decision to resign, also citing personal reasons.

“I decided that it would be difficult to continue practicing medicine in the current situation where views toward doctors are filled with hostility and anger,” Hong said.

“If you think that I am instigating a collective action by medical professionals by posting this video, you can revoke my license,” he added, showing his medical license number.

The Health Ministry said Wednesday that individual resignations by interns and residents would still be considered collective action if they are part of a series.

Park, in the press briefing on Wednesday, called on the interns and residents to come forward for dialogue and discussion on the matter, though he added that “the government’s resolve is firm” when it comes to expanding medical school admissions.

“There is clearly a shortage of doctors, and the announced plan to increase the number of doctors is not large compared to the current shortage of doctors,” Park said.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]