“The operational structure of hospitals must be reformed,” President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Mar. 6 during a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting in Sejong over the ongoing collective action of trainee doctors (intern and resident doctors). Yoon presided over a meeting for the first time in eight months, following discussions on heavy rains in July last year.
President Yoon expressed his concern about the abnormality of the current situation, wherein a nationwide medical emergency is activated after thousands of trainee doctors walked off their jobs.” Yoon also emphasized his vision to transform hospitals into a workforce structure centered on specialists. At the five major hospitals in Seoul (Seoul National University Hospital, Severance Hospital, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul Asan Medical Center, and Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital), specialists occupy nearly 40 percent of all doctors.
“Majority of trainee doctors still remain off their jobs,” said Yoon, affirming that the government will take appropriate action against doctors abandoning their duties and endangering the safety and lives of the public. Yoon vowed to reinforce the operation of emergency treatments to minimize the damage to the public and fill the void. The government also plans to actively deploy physician assistants and allocate a budget to prepare for prolonged medical emergencies; the cabinet is set to approve 128.5 billion won (US$96.3 million) in reserve funds.
President Yoon directly refuted the medical community’s claims, countering assertions such as “no shortage of doctors” and “difficulty of training 2,000 doctors at once” by citing specific figures. “The ongoing chaos in the medical field underscores the existence of a doctor shortage. The number of doctors has only increased sevenfold, while national healthcare expenses have surged 511 times.”
During the cabinet meeting in Sejong on the same day, Yoon asserted, “An illegal collective action that takes the people’s lives hostage is unacceptable and must be responded to strictly in accordance with the law and principles.” He highlighted that the exclusive right to practice medical treatments comes with corresponding responsibilities, saying, “The government’s actions aim not to suppress the freedom and rights of doctors, but to fulfill the state’s responsibilities under the Constitution and protect people’s right to life.”
