South Korean medical professors plan to resign en masse

The medical crisis in South Korea is showing signs of worsening as medical professors across the country have decided to submit their collective resignations starting March 25 to pressure the government to find a breakthrough in resolving the prolonged strike by trainee doctors.

The decision was made at an online meeting held by medical professors from 20 Korean universities late on March 15, the Association of Korean Medical Professors (AMCP) reported on March 16.

However, even as they submit their resignations, the medical professors said they will continue to serve patients at hospitals as more than 90 percent of South Korea's 13,000 trainee doctors have quit their jobs en masse since last month in protest against the government's decision to increase medical enrollment quotas.

Since the beginning of this week, medical professors have been warning of collective resignation if the government does not come up with a breakthrough solution to the nearly month-long strike.

Before submitting their resignations, the Korean Association of Medical Professors said it planned to hold a meeting on March 22 to update the situation.

March 25 is the deadline for trainee doctors to respond to the suspension of their practice licenses.

Earlier, the South Korean government sent a notice to suspend the licenses of about 5,000 trainee doctors for not complying with an executive order to return to work.

South Korean medical professionals are protesting a government plan to increase medical school enrollment by 2,000 students starting next year.

The government says the plan is aimed at addressing chronic shortages of doctors in rural areas and in essential but underserved health sectors.

However, doctors argue that increasing enrollment quotas would reduce the quality of education and other medical services, and could result in higher medical costs for patients.

Doctors are calling for urgent measures to improve salaries for specialists and provide legal protection for doctors against unjustified medical negligence lawsuits.

The prolonged strike has raised concerns that patients may not be able to receive timely medical treatment.

Major general hospitals have had to cancel and delay surgeries and emergency medical treatments due to their over-reliance on trainee doctors.