Park Dan, Former Representative of the Resident Doctors' Association, Submits Resignation Letter... "No Intention to Return"

"Giving Up the Dream of Becoming a Pediatric Emergency Medicine Specialist Without Regret"

Park Dan, a resident in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Severance Hospital and the president of the Korean Intern Resident Association (Daejeon Association), has submitted his resignation letter.

On the 19th, concerns over a "medical crisis" due to collective opposition from doctors, including the mass resignation of residents at five major domestic hospitals in protest against the government's expansion of medical school quotas, were growing. This photo shows a university hospital in downtown Seoul. Some residents in departments such as Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at Severance Hospital decided to stop working and submitted their resignation letters a day earlier. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

On the 19th, President Park stated on his personal social media (SNS), "I have submitted my resignation letter," adding, "The emergency room has always had many problems, and it was not surprising that my colleagues could leave the hospital at any time." He continued, "Thanks to the chaotic policies that completely ignored the field, I was able to give up my dream of becoming a pediatric emergency medicine specialist without any regrets," emphasizing, "I have no intention of returning."

Earlier, on the 12th, the Daejeon Association decided at an online emergency general assembly to transition to an emergency response committee system after all executive members except President Park resigned.

President Park also announced his intention to resign on the 15th, stating, "As my status as a resident will end, I will not be able to maintain the position of president of the Daejeon Association, so I will perform presidential duties only until March 20. Future by-elections and operational methods will be discussed at the general assembly in accordance with the association's regulations."

The Daejeon Association is known to have chosen collective action through individual resignation letters rather than a large-scale strike in response to the government's plan to increase medical school quotas.

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