Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
WASHINGTON DC, 9th July. South Korean government on Monday said that it is likely to halt the suspension of licences and other administrative steps against striking trainee doctors in an effort to seek a breakthrough in months-long medical service disruptions.
Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong was scheduled to hold a press briefing after a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, which he was to announce measures that would help facilitate dialogue and resolve the ongoing standoff with the medical community over the medical school admission quota hike.
Over 12,000 trainee doctors, or more than 90 per cent of the total, have left their worksites since late February in protest of the government’s medical reform plan, and most of them have rejected calls for returning to work, news media reported.
The key appeasement measure, the government is expected to halt administrative steps even for those who opt not to return to hospitals.
“Some trainee doctors are reluctant to return to work out of concerns that the move would lead to punishment against their defiant colleagues,” a ministry official said.
“If we suspend administrative measures altogether, that would help induce more to go back to hospitals,” he said, adding that it would be a “last resort” for the government to address the situation.
The officials said that doctors have urged the government to cancel, rather than suspend, administrative steps against striking doctors, but it would not do that in consideration of those who already ended their strike and other legal issues.
The government finalized an admissions quota hike of some 1,500 students for medical schools for next year in an effort to address problems stemming from the shortage of doctors despite strong opposition from doctors.
The government is set to announce its measures on the junior doctors, who have left their worksites since late February, according to government officials.
Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong pledged to introduce such measures in early July, as hospitals need to prepare for the recruitment of new junior doctors who will begin training in September.
The government has decided to halt the suspension of medical licences of those who return to work.
Over 1,104 junior doctors, or 8 per cent of 13,756 trainee doctors, were on duty at the country’s 211 training hospitals, according to government data.
Trainee doctors have been on strike for five months in protest against a hike in medical student admissions, the first such increase in 27 years, which was finalized in May.
The government initially instructed hospitals to not accept trainee doctors’ resignations to prevent them from seeking other jobs but reversed this order in late June to normalize operations.
The protracted walkout by trainee doctors has shown little signs of ending, medical professors, who also serve as senior doctors at general hospitals, began staging walkouts and other forms of protest.
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