Residents "Strike Continues" vs Ministry of Health "Regret"... Polar Opposite Medical and Political Views (Comprehensive)

Daejeon Association "Decides on Indefinite Strike After All-Night Meeting"... Ministry of Health and Welfare "Decision Ignores Public Consideration"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jung] The Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA), which is on an indefinite strike opposing the government's medical policies such as the expansion of medical school quotas and the establishment of public medical schools, has decided to continue the strike indefinitely. The government immediately expressed regret over the residents' decision to strike indefinitely, stating that such a decision is unjust and disregards the lives and safety of the public amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Although the medical education and training hospital council proposed postponing the strike and renegotiating government policies from scratch the previous day, KIRA rejected this and decided to continue the indefinite strike, escalating the conflict between the medical community and the government to an extreme level.

◆ KIRA chooses indefinite strike after overnight meeting = According to the medical community on the 30th, KIRA held an overnight meeting from 10 p.m. on the 29th until the morning of the 30th, and a vote was taken on whether to continue the residents' strike. The majority of voting residents chose an indefinite general strike.

A KIRA emergency committee official said, "We held an overnight meeting from 10 p.m. the previous day until this morning," adding, "With the government having filed complaints against residents for disobeying work orders, internal opinion strongly favored not stopping collective action, leading to the decision to continue the strike."

In the first vote conducted earlier by KIRA, 96 out of 193 voting members chose to continue the strike, but it failed to meet the majority quorum of 97. Forty-nine chose to stop the strike, and 48 abstained.

Following this, KIRA resolved to delegate the decision on whether to proceed or halt collective actions such as the strike to Emergency Committee Chair Park Ji-hyun and held a re-vote. In the re-vote, out of 186 voting members, 134 voted to continue the strike, 39 to stop, and 13 abstained.

In a notice issued that day, KIRA stated, "All residents will continue collective action according to the Emergency Committee's guidelines," and "Delegates will entrust all major decisions related to collective actions to the Emergency Committee Chair for the next seven days."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

◆ Ministry of Health and Welfare: "We made several concessions, but KIRA refused" = The government immediately expressed regret over KIRA's decision to strike indefinitely. The government stated that it had repeatedly proposed open dialogue on key health policies, including adjustments to medical school quotas, but the residents rejected these proposals.

On the 30th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said, "We deeply regret KIRA's decision announced at noon today to continue the collective strike," adding, "This is an unjust decision that disregards the lives and safety of the public." The government explained, "In this critical situation where COVID-19 is resurging nationwide, we requested the suspension of collective actions during the dialogue period and proposed not to unilaterally push forward policies such as notifying medical school quotas."

A Ministry of Health and Welfare official lamented, "KIRA rejected such agreements, citing distrust in the government, causing the collapse of the agreement."

Subsequently, on the 28th, National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee Chair Han Jeong-ae met with KIRA to resolve the issue of distrust in the government agreement, stating, "Until the COVID-19 spread stabilizes, the expansion of medical school quotas and the establishment of public medical schools will be suspended, and a parliamentary consultative body including medical experts such as the Korean Medical Association and KIRA will be established to keep all options open for discussion."

Furthermore, acknowledging the difficulty of trusting the agreement based solely on the government, to ensure the effectiveness of the agreement's implementation, promises were made that various medical organizations?including the Council of National University Hospitals, the Council of Private University Medical Centers, the Korean Hospital Association, the Korean Association of Medical Colleges and Medical Schools, the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences, KIRA, and the Korean Medical Students Association?would jointly take responsibility for implementation.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said, "Nevertheless, we find it difficult to understand KIRA's decision to overturn the initial vote result, which rejected continuing the strike, and to persist with the collective strike," adding, "This is an unjust decision that disregards the lives and safety of the public."

It continued, "We urge KIRA to choose dialogue and communication with the government rather than collective strike even now," and requested, "In this severe COVID-19 situation, please immediately return to medical practice to fulfill your duty as doctors protecting the lives and safety of the public."

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