According to officials on Thursday, South Korea’s government will soon suspend the licenses of protesting junior doctors who continue their strike, causing strain on the country’s medical services. This will be the final action taken by the government to address the ongoing issue.

More than 90% of the country’s 13,000 medical interns and residents have been on strike for about a month to protest the government’s plan to sharply increase medical school admissions. Their strikes have caused hundreds of canceled surgeries and other treatments at hospitals.

Authorities stress the importance of increasing the number of physicians in light of South Korea’s aging population and the fact that its doctor-to-population ratio is among the lowest in developed countries. However, medical professionals argue that educational institutions are unable to cope with a sudden and significant surge in enrollments, which could ultimately compromise the quality of healthcare in the country.

The government has implemented certain administrative measures to revoke their licenses as they failed to meet the government’s deadline of February 29 to resume work.

The process involves sending representatives to officially verify the absence of striking individuals, notifying them of potential license suspensions, and offering them opportunities to provide a response.

The Deputy Health Minister, Park Min-soo, announced during a briefing on Thursday that the government plans to finish the necessary procedures for some of the protesting doctors by next week. The government will then inform them of its final decision to revoke their licenses.

Earlier, Park mentioned that according to South Korea’s medical law, the protesting doctors could potentially be suspended for at least three months and could even be prosecuted for defying the government’s demand to return to work.

He encouraged the protesting doctors to resume their work immediately, proposing that those who end their strikes may receive less severe consequences.

Park stated that it is important for healthcare professionals to return to work as soon as possible, not only for the sake of their patients but also for their professional futures. This extended absence from hospitals cannot be allowed to persist any further. “As we have consistently stated, those who promptly return to work will be treated equally to those who delay their return,” Park affirmed.

It is not certain if and how many doctors on strike will go back to work at the very last moment. Park noted that none of the strikers who were warned of potential license suspension have replied.

Doctors with seniority at top university hospitals have made the decision to hand in their resignations next week as a show of solidarity with junior doctors. However, it is probable that many will still dutifully fulfill their work responsibilities. If they were to go on strike, it would greatly diminish the quality of medical services in South Korea.

Two experienced physicians, who head a committee of emergency physicians for the strikes, were recently issued notices by the government stating that their licenses would be revoked for three months due to accusations of instigating the junior doctors’ walkouts.

Junior doctors, who make up less than 10% of the 140,000 doctors in South Korea, play a significant role in major hospitals where they make up about 30%-40% of the doctors. They assist senior doctors during surgeries and tend to inpatients while receiving training.

The government plans to raise the maximum number of students allowed in medical schools by 2,000 starting in the following year. This is an increase from the current cap of 3,058, which has remained the same since 2006.

On Wednesday, the government released in-depth proposals regarding the distribution of the extra 2,000 spots for university admissions. This signals their determination to stick to their plan.

Authorities state that there is a need for additional doctors to combat the ongoing scarcity of physicians in rural communities and in vital yet low-compensating fields. However, healthcare professionals contend that newly hired students would still prefer to work in urban areas and in higher-paying specialties such as plastic surgery and dermatology. They also warn that the proposed government strategy could potentially lead to doctors providing unnecessary treatments due to heightened competition.

Based on polls, most South Koreans are in favor of the government’s efforts to produce more doctors. However, some skeptics believe that doctors, who hold one of the most lucrative jobs in South Korea, may be concerned about their earnings decreasing due to the increase in the number of doctors.

Source: voanews.com