The government to accept virtually all requirements doctors demand but dialogue is still needed[Editorial]

South Korea\'s Health and Welfare Minister Cho Kyu-hong gives a briefing. Lee Joon-heon

Health and Welfare Minister Cho Kyu-hong said On June 4 that he would withdraw the orders to start work issued to trainee doctors and training hospitals and the ban on accepting resignations from them. He also said that he would suspend administrative penalties, such as license suspension, when doctors return to work, and allow them to take the specialty exams without interruption. He promised to improve the poor training environment for trainee doctors and establish a system to estimate the supply and demand of doctors. He expressed his intention to accept virtually all of the seven requirements that trainee doctors put forward when they left the medical field, except for "withdrawal of the increase in medical school admissions."

The government's new guidelines are a significant step back from its initial stance of “no leniency, no remedy” and strict enforcement of the law against physicians who left hospitals. The government also said that it would consider the situation of the emergency medical care system and public opinion in a comprehensive manner and that it did not intend to immediately impose license suspensions on the doctors who do not return. It is unfortunate that we are once again faced with the collective action of doctors, as we were in 2020. However, since the government's hasty push for healthcare reform has been bogged down since the beginning and the dialogue has been cut off, an exit strategy to address the medical gap is inevitable. “The decision was made with the expectation of criticism, given the fatigue of the remaining medical staff at hospitals and the growing suffering of the seriously ill,” Cho said.

Now, it is time for doctors to make a decision. However, hardline doctors are pushing back, saying that “accepting the resignation letters without the withdrawal of the increase in medical school admissions is nothing but splitting the medical community.” The Korean Medical Association is holding a vote for and against a general strike from the day to the 7th, and the emergency committee of professors at Seoul National University College of Medicine and Seoul National University Hospital will also hold an emergency general meeting with an agenda of holding a general strike. However, as the government has promised not to impose administrative measures on doctors, there is no reason for further collective action. The current confrontation will not be resolved forever if either side insists on the other’s complete surrender. If the doctors have any sense of professional responsibility left, it is time to get back to patients.

If this appeasement does not bring back a significant number of trainee doctors, the gap in medical care will be prolonged. The government should come up with a more thorough emergency medical treatment system. Preemptive measures should be taken to deal with any potential disruptions in medical school education and training this year and next year caused by the sharp increase in medical school admissions and absence of trainee doctors at hospitals. In the end, the sparks and confusion of the conflict can only be resolved through dialogue. The government and the medical community should normalize the medical field and operate a consultative body early on which will draw up an effective healthcare reform plan.

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.