SNU hospital professors set to stage indefinite strike from Monday

More than half of medical professors at four hospitals affiliated with Seoul National University (SNU) will stage an indefinite strike starting Monday, with the number of surgeries they perform expected to drop by nearly half.

A patient reads a poster criticizing striking doctors for harming patients and burdening other health workers at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital in Gyeonggi on Sunday. [NEWS1]

More than half of medical professors at four hospitals affiliated with Seoul National University (SNU) will stage an indefinite strike starting Monday, with the number of surgeries they perform expected to drop by nearly 50 percent.

SNU’s emergency response committee announced on Sunday that 529 senior doctors, or 54.7 percent of the school's medical professors, had informed their patients of delays in operations and office closures to take place between Monday and Saturday.

The strike will impact SNU’s main Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) in Jongno District, central Seoul, Seoul Metropolitan Government-Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center in Dongjak District, eastern Seoul, SNUH Gangnam Center in Gangnam District, southern Seoul and Seoul National University Bundang Hospital in Gyeonggi.

According to the committee, the utilization rate of operating rooms will decrease to 33.5 percent from the current 62.7 percent. All 20 clinical departments that participated in the committee’s survey will join the strike.

Although Kim Young-tae, the president of SNUH, said he would not approve the collective action, the medical professors are determined to press ahead anyway.

In a survey conducted by the committee, 90.3 percent of all SNU medical professors, or 873, answered that they support the strike.

The hospital-wide strike is a “calling toward policymakers” and “not intended to inflict damages on patients,” said Prof. Kang Hee-gyung, chief of the committee, in a message to Kim and her colleagues.

She wrote that the strike is not a “complete discontinuation of medical services,” noting that "essential treatments for patients with critical and rare diseases will be provided during the strike.”

Kang explained that the strike would only affect treatments and surgeries that can be performed or given by other medical centers. Kang also reminded the professors that their actions should not harm patients who can only be treated at SNU’s affiliated hospitals.

Medical professors at other so-called Big Five hospitals — the country’s five largest medical centers providing the most tertiary care — will likely strike as well.

The five hospitals are SNUH, Severance Hospital, Samsung Medical Center, Asan Medical Center and Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital.

Medical professors at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital and Asan Medical Center will stage a one-day strike on Tuesday, while professors at Severance Hospital will participate in an indefinite strike starting June 27.

With hundreds of medical professors leaving their posts indefinitely, the nation’s largest doctors’ group, the Korean Medical Association (KMA), encouraged doctors running private clinics to join a one-day closure on Tuesday to protest against the government.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo speaks during a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting held at the Central Government Complex in central Seoul on Sunday. [NEWS1]

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo criticized the medical community’s strike on Sunday, warning that such actions would “leave a scar on society” and “ruin decades of trust between doctors and patients.”

During a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting held at the Central Government Complex in central Seoul on the same day, Han said he “deeply regretted” the doctors’ firm decision to push ahead with the strike despite “patients’ tearful pleas for doctors to stay at their hospitals.”

The minister said the right to life "is the most basic human right bestowed on Koreans,” criticizing striking doctors for jeopardizing the lives and health of their patients.

“Stipulated by the constitution and laws, the government restrains the autonomy of doctors to a certain degree and also offers other [exclusive] benefits to doctors,” Han said.

He noted that workers in public services such as health care and social infrastructure maintenance should tolerate such restrictions as they are meant to protect the public's right to life.

“In every sphere of medical services, unlimited autonomy cannot be granted to doctors, and the legal system also prevents such a situation,” Han said.

Han added that both doctors and the government should uphold the laws and provisions as “general principles to abide by.” The minister also warned against the arbitrary application of the law.

Han said the government will try to dissuade the medical community from staging the strike until the very last minute. He also promised to minimize patient inconvenience if and when strikes begin.

Later that day, the KMA said it could suspend the strike if the government accepted its three demands: renegotiating the admissions quota hike in medical schools, amending policies for essential health care and immediately canceling administrative punishments on junior doctors and medical students.

The association said the members will vote again on a motion to stage the strike on Monday if the government accepts its demands. The association suggested a deadline of 11 p.m. Sunday.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]