On the Second Day of Doctors' Strike... Residents Submit Resignation Letters in Collective Action

COVID-19 Treatment Also Replaced by Volunteer Work
Movement to Boycott Specialist Qualification and Internship Exams

Residents opposing the government's expansion of medical school quotas are holding a 24-hour silent picket protest on the 23rd at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic Central Medical Center in Seoul. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] As the medical community's collective strike (work stoppage) opposing the government's four major healthcare policies?expansion of medical school quotas, establishment of public medical schools, pilot project for coverage of traditional Korean herbal medicine prescriptions, and promotion of telemedicine?enters its second day, residents, who are mainly young doctors, plan to express stronger opposition by defying the government's work commencement order.

According to the Korean Intern and Resident Association (KIRA), representing about 16,000 residents, they plan to carry out the "5th Young Doctors' Collective Action" on the 27th, where volunteers will submit their resignation letters. They maintained the strike despite the government's work commencement order issued the previous day. Additionally, as a form of protest, they conducted the 4th collective action "Blackout," cutting off all external communications for 12 hours from 10 a.m. the previous day. On the third day of the strike, the 28th, they have also announced the 6th Young Doctors' Collective Action, which involves a 24-hour blackout.

The KIRA Emergency Response Committee has established detailed guidelines for the collective action, including "not answering phone calls from hospitals, stopping all personal posts on social network services (SNS), and absolutely not answering calls from unknown numbers."

KIRA also decided to convert COVID-19 treatment, which had been operated with resident manpower, into a volunteer-based system.

Residents are doctors undergoing training to obtain specialist qualifications at university hospitals and are referred to as interns or residents. Since the 21st, they have been on an indefinite strike without setting a return-to-work date, covering essential services including emergency rooms and intensive care units. Separately, they also plan to boycott specialist qualification exams and intern exams.

Earlier, the Ministry of Health and Welfare revealed that just before the medical community's strike, it had reached a tentative agreement through behind-the-scenes talks with the Korean Medical Association to suspend the expansion of medical school quotas and the establishment of public medical schools until the COVID-19 spread stabilizes, in exchange for the medical community withdrawing the collective strike. However, the final agreement fell through due to internal opposition from residents and others.

The KIRA Emergency Response Committee stated, "The policies implemented so far must be suspended or withdrawn," and added, "When reconsidered, discussions should start from scratch or the beginning, and consultations must include the Korean Intern and Resident Association, the Korean Medical Association, and the medical community."

Meanwhile, the strike involves residents, fellows, and private practitioners. The Ministry of Health and Welfare estimates that 1,905 (5.8%) of the 32,787 clinic-level medical institutions nationwide will be closed today. The previous day, 3,549 clinics were closed, representing a 10.1% closure rate. Clinics that had pre-registered for closure numbered 2,097 (6.4%), so the actual number increased by nearly 1,500.

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