'All Possibilities' vs 'Original Point Reconsideration'... Is the Agreement Phrase a Strike Pitfall?

Resident Doctors "Government to Reconsider from Scratch"... Ministry of Health "Even Medical Elders Step Forward to Guarantee"

On the 30th, a doctor is holding a solo protest at Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno-gu, Seoul, urging opposition to the government's medical policy, as the Emergency Response Committee of the Korean Intern Resident Association decided to continue the collective strike. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The wording of the agreement between the government and the medical community has emerged as a key issue in the continued strike by resident doctors. While the government emphasized the necessity of the agreement by including the phrase "keeping all possibilities open," the residents are continuing their strike on the grounds that the phrase "re-discussion from the starting point" is not included.

◆Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA) "No guarantee of 're-discussion from the starting point' by the government= The emergency committee of the Korean Intern Resident Association stated in an email sent to reporters on the 31st, "The government side has consistently maintained the position that words like 'from the starting point' or 'full re-discussion' cannot be explicitly stated." The emergency committee holds the position that any agreement without such wording is absolutely unacceptable.

Earlier, on the 24th, following a meeting between the Prime Minister and the Korean Medical Association (KMA), the Ministry of Health and Welfare prepared a draft agreement including the content "keeping all possibilities open and consulting with the KMA" through discussions between the Minister of Health and Welfare and the KMA president. However, the phrase "all possibilities" is ambiguous, and since the government cannot be trusted, a clearer expression is necessary. The government, on the other hand, insists that the phrase "all possibilities" represents the maximum concession the government can make and that the residents should come to the table for dialogue.

As the positions of both sides diverged, on the 29th, the National University Hospital Council, the Private University Medical Center Council, and the Korean Training Hospital Council stepped forward and promised to jointly take responsibility for the government's implementation. This included the content that "adjustments to medical school quotas, establishment of public medical schools, and related bills and policies will be actively discussed from the starting point within a medical-government consultative body composed of the medical community centered on the KMA and the Ministry of Health and Welfare." Furthermore, it clearly stated that "if the National Assembly and government unilaterally push forward related bills and policies again, the medical community will declare joint countermeasures." This effectively reflects a significant part of the residents' position.

Regarding this, the emergency committee said, "The government has pushed ahead with major policies such as expanding medical school quotas without gathering opinions from the medical community, and after the COVID-19 crisis ends, we cannot predict how they will act again," adding, "Trust between the medical community and the government has not been built up, so it is difficult to stop the strike based solely on the government's word."

◆Ministry of Health and Welfare: "Even with endorsements from senior medical figures, the strike continues"= The Ministry of Health and Welfare expressed that it cannot understand the decision by KIRA to continue the strike at all. A ministry official said, "Didn't the medical-government consultative body, composed of the medical community centered on the KMA and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, agree to actively discuss from the 'starting point' regarding the expansion of medical school quotas, establishment of public medical schools, and related bills and policies?" The official added, "Senior figures in the medical community have even 'endorsed' that they would join the medical strike if the government does not implement the agreement, so it is completely incomprehensible that the residents are continuing the strike."

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