South Korea begins process of suspending licenses of 4,900 striking doctors

Notices were sent to interns who did not comply with the request to return to work at the hospital. This is the first procedure in the process of suspending a doctor's license to practice.

Yonhap news agency quoted Vice Health Minister Jun Byung-wang as saying that the ministry had finished sending notices to the doctors last week. Once they receive the notices, doctors will have to submit their opinions on the penalties by March 25. Meanwhile, the health ministry has opened a hotline to protect those who want to return to work.

The strike began on February 20 in protest of the government’s decision to increase the number of medical students. The South Korean government has said that increasing the number of doctors is necessary to address the shortage of medical personnel and meet the needs of the country’s rapidly aging population. Meanwhile, the medical community believes that increasing the number of students will reduce the quality of training and services and lead to increased medical costs.

As of March 8, a total of 11,994 interns and residents at hospitals, accounting for about 93% of the total number of doctors in this category, have walked off the job. This strike has led to the postponement or cancellation of surgeries at major hospitals.

Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong said the government will take lenient measures for doctors who return to work before administrative procedures to suspend their licenses are completed.

Previously, the striking interns were warned that their licenses could be suspended for three months, delaying their ability to become specialists by at least a year.

Chun Byung Wang, director of health and medical policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, urged trainee doctors to return to work and pledged that the government would review the situation and protect the rights of doctors. He affirmed that the government would not give up on dialogue and would respect and listen to the opinions of the medical community.

Meanwhile, many students at 10 medical schools in South Korea have not shown up to school to protest against the increase in enrollment quotas for this major. In addition, the remaining 30 medical schools in the country have postponed the start of the new semester.

If the boycott continues, students may be held back as a group. In most medical schools, students are not eligible to advance to the next grade if they miss 25-30% of their classes.

South Korean Education Minister Lee Ju-ho has asked the Korean Medical Student Association to attend a meeting on the evening of March 13 to discuss medical school training programs and protect students' educational rights.