Regional Hospital Director "Angry at Residents Who Abandoned Patients and Went on Strike"

Park Hyun-seo, Director of Asan Hyundai Hospital, Draws Attention by Criticizing the Neglect of Rural Doctor Shortage Issue

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jung] On the second day of the doctors' general strike on the 27th, a hospital director in one region sharply criticized the residents who are the main participants in the strike. He directly targeted the residents who are on an indefinite strike opposing the expansion of medical school quotas and the establishment of public medical schools, revealing differing opinions within the medical community.

On the 27th, Park Hyun-seo, director of Asan Hyundai Hospital, posted a lengthy message on his Facebook, saying, "At 5 a.m. on the 27th, I am very angry."

Director Park said, "I am not angry because I have been treating patients overnight for several days. I am angry at the group that forced a large-scale rally during this crisis and spread COVID-19 nationwide, and I am angry at the emergency room residents who abandoned patients and went on strike."

He pointed out, "They say they will only increase the number of regional doctors who are required to work for 10 years in provincial small towns like Asan by a mere 300 per year, which is only 10% of the current medical school quota. And that too only temporarily for 10 years. Is it such a big mistake to try to achieve even a little of the health and pursuit of happiness of all citizens that it justifies closing emergency rooms and abandoning seriously ill patients to go on strike?"

Director Park criticized, "Most medical students and young residents are from Seoul, and they have no intention whatsoever of coming to rural areas. Yet, when the government proposes to increase the quota by 10% outside the regular quota for medical students who will serve 10 years of mandatory service in rural areas they don't want to go to, why do they oppose it and even abandon patients to go on strike?"

He continued, "How much of a competitor will the regional doctors, increased by just 10%, really be to your private practice or employed positions? Are you that afraid? Do you think the public will make our doctors' salaries only 2 to 3 million won? The minimum wage is 2 million won per month, and if doctors' monthly income falls below 2 to 3 times that, the public will not want it either."

Director Park added, "In this rural area, whether it's an ignorant old man, a drunken homeless person, or a foreign worker without money, who may be a little less smart than you and might have missed one or two questions on the college entrance exam, they need doctors who stay by their side overnight when they are sick."

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