Oriental Medicine Doctors "Ignoring Patients' Cries... Pushing to Expand Clinic Treatments"

Park Dan, President of Daejeon Medical Association, Resigns... "No Intention to Return"
Medical Association: "Government and Medical Community Must Engage in Dialogue"

In response to the government's policy to increase the number of medical school admissions, doctors including residents are showing signs of collective action, and Park Dan, president of the Korean Intern Resident Association (Daejeonhyeop), has joined the wave of resignations. Amid growing concerns about medical service gaps, the Korean Oriental Medicine Association criticized the collective resignation of residents and pledged to minimize the medical service disruption.

On the 19th, Park, an emergency medicine resident at Severance Hospital, announced that he had submitted his resignation to the hospital. Through social media (SNS), Park stated, "The emergency room has always had many problems, and it was not surprising that my colleagues could leave the hospital at any time." He added, "Thanks to the chaotic policy that completely ignored the field, I was able to give up my dream of becoming a pediatric emergency medicine specialist without any regrets," and said, "I have no intention of returning to the medical field."

On the 19th, concerns over a "medical crisis" due to collective opposition from doctors, including the mass resignation of residents from the five major hospitals in Korea in protest against the government's expansion of medical school quotas, were rising. The 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@

Currently, residents at hospitals nationwide are continuing to submit resignation letters in protest against the government's policy to increase medical school admissions. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, as of 6 p.m. on the 16th, 715 residents from 23 of the top 100 training hospitals by number of residents submitted resignation letters. However, each hospital has not accepted the resignations due to government orders.

As conflicts between the medical community and the government intensify, concerns about medical service gaps are also growing. The Korean Oriental Medicine Association issued a statement criticizing the collective resignation of residents. The association strongly condemned the excessive behavior of the medical community, saying, "We strongly denounce the medical community's overreach, which shamelessly threatens to abandon basic medical ethics and ignore the desperate cries of patients by leaving the clinical field." They raised their voices, urging, "We sternly advise them to deeply reflect, regain reason, and faithfully fulfill their duties in the clinical field."

They continued, "The Korean Oriental Medicine Association declares that it will do its utmost as medical professionals to minimize the inconvenience caused by medical service gaps and to prevent the collapse of the national medical system," and added, "We will prioritize expanding weekday night and holiday medical services at Korean medicine clinics, Korean medicine hospitals, and affiliated hospitals of Korean medicine colleges nationwide."

Meanwhile, the Korea Hospital Association formed a 'Medical Issue Situation Response Committee' on the same day to respond to the emergency situation in the medical community. The Situation Response Committee stated, "The government should not only insist on principles and take a hardline stance but also listen to the concerns of the medical community and actively engage in dialogue," and "While sympathizing with the positions of the medical community, including residents, efforts must be made to gain public support." They added, "We urge the government, the medical community, and residents to come to the negotiating table even now, and the Hospital Association will do its best to mediate."

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