The South Korean government has expressed disapproval of top doctors at a prominent hospital for threatening to quit in solidarity with the ongoing protests by medical interns and residents, which have caused disruptions to hospital services.

Approximately 12,000 medical interns in South Korea have been on strike for one month in opposition to a government proposal to significantly raise the amount of students admitted into medical schools. Officials argue that this plan aims to address the aging population by increasing the number of doctors, but the interns claim that universities are not equipped to handle such a sudden, drastic increase and it will ultimately compromise the quality of medical care in South Korea.

Last week, the government took action to revoke the licenses of the protesting doctors who failed to meet the government’s deadline of February 29 for their return.

The strikes are at risk of becoming more serious as chief physicians at Seoul National University Hospital and its associated hospitals have announced plans to collectively resign if the government does not take action to resolve the conflict by the beginning of next week. Senior doctors at other prominent university hospitals might follow suit.

Bang JaeSeung, the leader of the emergency committee at a Seoul hospital, announced on Monday that if the government fails to implement genuine and practical solutions to address the issue, they have decided to collectively resign on March 18.

However, the committee’s ruling does not require participation, leaving uncertainty about the number of doctors who may choose to submit their resignations. The Seoul National University Hospital and its three affiliated hospitals have a combined total of approximately 1,480 medical professors, most of whom also serve as practicing physicians.

According to emergency committee officials, doctors who submit their resignations will likely still work to avert a medical emergency unless the hospital authorities approve their resignations immediately. However, under the law, the resignations will automatically be processed after one month.

According to Kim Mi-na, the head of the university’s emergency committee, the University of Ulsan College of Medicine in the southeast has also made the decision to allow senior doctors to voluntarily submit resignations last week.

During a briefing on Tuesday, Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo expressed disappointment over the decision of the doctor from Seoul National University Hospital. He urged them to collaborate with the government in persuading the junior doctors to resume their duties.

According to Park, a new resignation by a group that endangers the safety of patients would be challenging for the public to comprehend.

According to him, on Monday the Health Minister, Cho KyooHong, met with a group of striking junior doctors. However, he declined to give any information about the meeting. As of now, there is no news of any progress made.

This was the initial encounter between the authorities and the striking workers, following the implementation of a series of administrative measures on March 4 to suspend their licenses. These measures involved sending officials to verify the strikers’ absences, issuing notifications regarding the impending suspensions, and providing them with chances to provide a response before the suspensions went into effect.

Officials have stated that the doctors who went on strike would potentially receive a minimum of three-month suspensions of their licenses and could face prosecution. However, there have been no reports of any suspensions being carried out at this time.

The junior doctors on strike make up under 10% of the 140,000 doctors in the country. However, in large hospitals such as Seoul National University Hospital, they make up 30%-40% of the total doctors, supporting senior doctors in surgeries and caring for inpatients while also receiving training. As a result of their protests, there have been many surgeries and treatments canceled at their hospitals, creating strain on South Korea’s healthcare system.

In February, the South Korean government announced plans to increase the number of students admitted to medical school by 2,000 in the upcoming year. This quota has remained at 3,058 since 2006.

Authorities report that South Korea has a relatively low ratio of doctors to population compared to other developed nations, therefore, a greater number of physicians are needed to effectively combat the persistent shortage of medical professionals in rural regions and in fields that offer lower salaries.

According to physicians, recent medical school graduates may also opt to practice in the metropolitan area and specialize in lucrative fields such as plastic surgery and dermatology. They warn that this could lead to unnecessary procedures being done by doctors, as they strive to outdo each other.

The doctors’ attempts at protest have not garnered support from the general public. Detractors argue that doctors, who are among the highest paid workers in South Korea, are primarily concerned about potential decreases in their income.

___

Jiwon Song, a writer for the Associated Press, contributed to this report.