From Strike to Signature... Collective Sickout Resolved in a Month

Residents Oppose Agreement Document... Conflict Sparks Remain

Minister of Health and Welfare Park Neung-hoo (right) and Chairman Choi Dae-jip of the Korean Medical Association are taking a commemorative photo after signing the agreement to form the medical-government consultative body at the Government Seoul Office in Sejong-ro, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 4th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The government and the medical community, which had clashed fiercely over government policies such as the expansion of medical school quotas, dramatically signed an agreement on the 4th. With the government and the medical community agreeing to reconsider the contentious policies from scratch, the conflict between the medical sector and the government entered a resolution phase after a month.

◆Indefinite Strikes on the 7th, 14th, and 21st=There were many twists and turns before the dramatic agreement was reached that day. During this process, the government's four major medical policies?expansion of medical school quotas, establishment of public medical schools, coverage of herbal medicine prescriptions, and introduction of telemedicine?became the core of conflict amid debates over pros and cons. The medical community labeled these as the 'Four Evils' and virtually all groups, from medical students to residents, fellows, private practitioners, and medical school professors, engaged in collective action.

The first strike took place on the 7th of last month. Residents, including interns and residents, initiated collective action by suspending all duties for one day, including essential services such as emergency rooms, delivery rooms, and dialysis rooms. The Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA) met with the Ministry of Health and Welfare the day before the strike but failed to narrow differences over the expansion of medical school quotas, so the strike proceeded as planned.

The Korean Medical Association (KMA) launched the first collective strike a week later on the 14th for one day. Nearly one in three medical institutions nationwide, including local clinics, participated (32.6%).

On the 7th, residents participated in the 'National Doctors' General Strike Rally Against the Promotion of the Four Major Medical Evils Policy' held near Yeouido Park in Seoul, urging opposition to the expansion of medical school quotas. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

◆Government Takes Strong Measures Against Strikes=As residents began an indefinite strike on the 21st, the strike situation spiraled out of control. Fellows and clinical instructors also joined the indefinite strike starting from the 24th. As of the 2nd, among 200 training hospitals nationwide, the strike rates of residents and fellows were 85.4% and 29.7%, respectively. Medical students supported the movement by refusing to take the national licensing exam scheduled for the 1st.

As the situation escalated rapidly, negotiations between the government and the KMA were conducted intensely. The two sides prepared a tentative agreement four days after the indefinite strike began, on the 25th of last month, but it fell through as KIRA opposed it, stating "No withdrawal of strikes before policy withdrawal." Accordingly, the KMA carried out a second collective strike for three days from the 26th to the 28th of the same month.

With the medical community's aggressive stance, the government also took strong measures, pushing the strike situation into uncertainty. On the 26th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare issued work commencement orders to residents and fellows working at training hospitals in the metropolitan area, while President Moon Jae-in ordered, "Strongly respond to the KMA strike through principled law enforcement." This was the first time the government issued work commencement orders to doctors, residents, and fellows rather than medical institutions.

On the 28th, the Ministry reported 10 residents and fellows who did not return to hospital sites despite the work commencement orders to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. On the same day, the government expanded the work commencement orders from the metropolitan area to nationwide, warning that "If the collective strike continues, there could be serious and direct risks to patients' lives and safety."

Han Jeong-ae, Chair of the Policy Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea (right), and Choi Dae-jip, President of the Korea Medical Association, are seen fist-bumping after signing a policy agreement implementation memorandum on the morning of the 4th at the Democratic Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. The agreement includes re-examining the expansion of medical school quotas and the establishment of public medical schools.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

◆Dialogue Opens Between Government, Ruling Party, and KMA=A change occurred in the fierce conflict between the government and the medical community, which had been running on parallel tracks, when the government postponed the practical part of the medical licensing exam by one week on the 31st of last month, the day before the exam. By accepting the request of medical school professors, the government made a gesture of reconciliation.

The conflict between the government and the medical community began to thaw when Han Jeong-ae, the Policy Committee Chair of the ruling Democratic Party, met with KMA President Choi Dae-jip on the 1st and mentioned, "We can discuss from a completely zero state." The ruling party left open the possibility of formalizing a 're-discussion from scratch,' raising expectations for an agreement.

The Special Committee for the Fight Against the Four Evils of the Medical Community (Special Committee) held a meeting the previous afternoon with the Korean Medical Association and the Young Doctors Emergency Committee, unanimously approving a unified medical community proposal.

On the same day, the KMA reached an agreement with the government following the ruling Democratic Party. The government agreed to halt the expansion of medical school quotas and the establishment of public medical schools and to keep all possibilities open for discussion with the KMA through a medical-government consultative body after the stabilization of COVID-19. Accordingly, the KMA decided to stop collective action and return to medical practice.

However, as opposition within the medical community, especially among residents, remains strong, the conflict's embers persist. KIRA expressed opposition, stating they were unaware of the agreement schedule or specific details. Residents strongly protested by occupying the venue of the signing ceremony between the government and the KMA. The signing ceremony, originally scheduled for 11 a.m. that day, was held around 2:40 p.m. at the Seoul Gwanghwamun Government Complex after residents staged picketing and protests.

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