Some doctors and medical school students say more people should die during doctors’ strike

Choo Kyung-ho, the floor leader of People\'s Power Party, and others listen to a briefing on a situation of the emergency room at Chung-Ang University Hospital in Dongjak-gu, Seoul on September 11, ahead of the Chuseok holiday. Reporter Moon Jae-won

In the online communities of doctors and medical school students, some of the students have made derisive comments about patients and citizens, which went too far. Criticism has been growing over the level of awareness of some doctors who left hospitals at a time when the damage to patients is increasing due to the doctors’ strike.

On September 11, a post was uploaded on an online medical community, which is suspected as Medistaff, saying that more people should die by the medical disruption. The website requires users to be certified as a doctor or medical student to join. Medistaff has been engaged in a series of “doxing” and “backstabbing” of physicians who have not resigned or are attempting to return to hospitals after their mass resignations.

The posts in question include aggressive expressions such as “All should die. The stage of consultation with you is over," "We have no impression that Koreans die while traveling around to find an emergency room. I just want more people to die and be in the news," and "I feel good whenever I see people die."

Some posts demeaned the Korean people, referring to them as “pigs” and “josenjing.” There were phrases like “I don't have any sympathy for the pigs,” "Let them be terrorized," and ”Only after they have accumulated enough experiences of almost dying because they couldn't get to a doctor will they have appreciation and respect for doctors.”

There was also a comment that a writer hoped there would be a rush to the emergency room during the Chuseok holiday. The writer of the post, who is believed to be a doctor, did not hesitate to make disparaging remarks and wrote, “I hope there will be chaos in emergency rooms during Chuseok. We shouldn't save Koreans.”

Citizens were outraged by the comments. “I'm not a doctor, but as someone who works in a hospital, I'm ashamed and angry,” said Ms. A (43), who works at a clinic. “I feel sorry for the patients who come to the hospital.”

“The public and patients are watching all of this, but they are gritting their teeth,” said Mr. B (54), a family member of a patient. ”This kind of behavior by doctors will not help resolve the situation and will only increase distrust.”

“It's pathetic that doctors are asking the public to suffer more in this situation,” said Kim Sung-joo, CEO of the Korean Federation of Serious Illnesses. ”If they have the strength to write such posts, please return to hospitals and use it to treat patients.”

Regarding such derisive comments, some commented, “I'm horrified that someone with such a mindset is a doctor,” “I can't believe they said such cruel things with heads and hands that save people," and "They must be deprived of their license."

The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to check the posts, collect evidence, and ask the police to investigate. Earlier, the ministry also requested an investigation into the “emergency room blacklist” that was circulated with the personal information of doctors who did not leave hospitals after the mass resignation of doctors.

“The wrong perception and behavior of some doctors or medical school students is very unfortunate and regrettable,” said Jeong Yoon-soon, head of the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s healthcare policy office, at a briefing. ”The government has requested a total of 40 investigations to protect medical staff so far, and will also request an investigation into the unsavory posts on the internal community of doctors.”

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