Government Orders Resident Doctors and Fellows in the Seoul Metropolitan Area to Start Work at 8 AM (Update)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jung] 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.

The work commencement order carries strong penalties, including the possibility of revoking medical licenses if violated.

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

The Ministry said, "We plan to verify work attendance through on-site inspections starting with emergency rooms and intensive care units of metropolitan training hospitals, issue individual work commencement orders, and then investigate compliance." Subsequently, individual work commencement orders will be issued in the order of surgery, delivery, and dialysis rooms of metropolitan training hospitals, emergency and intensive care units in non-metropolitan areas, and surgery, delivery, and dialysis rooms in non-metropolitan areas. Failure to comply with individual work commencement orders may result in criminal penalties (up to 3 years imprisonment or fines up to 30 million KRW) and administrative sanctions (license suspension up to 1 year, license revocation for imprisonment or higher).

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."

Additionally, the government plans to cancel medical students' national exams after reconfirming their attendance status and cancellation intentions.

The government also plans to request local governments to strictly respond, including administrative sanctions, if medical institutions do not comply with work commencement orders issued by local governments during the collective strike period, based on Article 59 of the Medical Service Act. The Ministry of Health and Welfare stated, "For medical institutions that fail or refuse to comply with the work commencement order, we plan to consider administrative suspension (15 days), work commencement orders, and criminal penalties of up to 3 years imprisonment or fines up to 30 million KRW for those who refuse."

Furthermore, the government will also file reports for violations of the Fair Trade Act such as cartel activities and impose administrative sanctions based on the Medical Service Act against the Medical Association, which planned and promoted the collective strike of medical institutions, including private practitioners.

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