Government Orders Metropolitan Area Residents and Fellows to Start Work at 8 AM

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] On the 26th, as the Korean Medical Association decided to proceed with the 2nd nationwide doctors' strike as a 'non-face-to-face rally,' the government issued a work commencement order to residents and fellows who have launched an indefinite collective strike (work stoppage).

The work commencement order carries strong punitive regulations, to the extent that violating it may result in the revocation of a medical license. In cases of individual non-compliance with the work commencement order, criminal penalties (imprisonment of up to 3 years or a fine of up to 30 million KRW) and administrative sanctions (license suspension of up to 1 year, or license revocation for imprisonment or higher) can be imposed.

On the 26th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare stated at a briefing held at the Government Seoul Office, "The Minister of Health and Welfare ordered residents and fellows working at training hospitals located in the metropolitan areas of Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon to immediately return to patient care duties as of 8 a.m. today."

The Ministry said, "We will verify whether they are working through on-site inspections starting with emergency rooms and intensive care units of training hospitals in the metropolitan area, issue individual work commencement orders, and then investigate compliance."

It added, "This is a serious crisis situation where the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) is rapidly spreading mainly in the metropolitan area, raising concerns about a nationwide epidemic," and said, "For the government, it is inevitable to issue the work commencement order to protect the lives and safety of the people."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.