Ministry of Health and Welfare Checks Emergency Medical Systems in 17 Cities and Provinces in Preparation for Medical Community Collective Action

Thorough Management to Prevent Medical Gaps
Including Emergency Room Operation Checks During Seol Holiday Break

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 7th that it held a meeting with the directors of health bureaus from 17 cities and provinces to prepare for collective actions by doctors, including the general strike by the Korea Medical Association, and to check the emergency medical system.

At the meeting, they discussed trends in doctors' collective actions following the increase in medical school admissions and emergency room operations during the Lunar New Year holiday, among other emergency medical measures.

Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong is announcing the plan to expand medical school admissions quotas on the 6th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

The government requested local governments to establish emergency medical response plans and set up emergency medical response situation rooms to prepare for situations requiring emergency medical care due to doctors' collective actions.

Through this, they plan to establish an information collection system on the status of emergency medical institutions and operate a 24-hour emergency medical system for essential medical services such as emergency rooms and intensive care units.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare, upon announcing the medical school admission quota for the 2025 academic year the previous day, raised the health care crisis level to the "alert" stage in preparation for doctors' collective actions and immediately activated the "Central Accident Response Headquarters for Doctors' Collective Actions."

Jeon Byeong-wang, Director of Health Care Policy, said, "Each local government should promptly establish emergency medical response plans and work closely with the Ministry of Health and Welfare to ensure there are no gaps in essential medical services," adding, "The government will respond to illegal collective actions according to laws and principles."

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