Ministry of the Interior and Local Governments Hold Emergency Meeting on 'Doctors' Collective Action'..."Strict Response if Public Harm Occurs"

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety held an emergency meeting with local governments to minimize damage caused by collective actions of doctors. Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min emphasized that if the medical community's collective actions cause harm to the public, the government will respond "strictly."

On the 20th, Minister Lee held a meeting with vice heads of cities and provinces to check emergency medical situations in local governments and urged them to thoroughly manage regional medical sites centered on the vice heads and to ensure the emergency medical measures are implemented without fail.

At the 2023 Central-Local Joint Meeting on Current Issues held at the Government Seoul Office Building, Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, is delivering a greeting. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@

Additionally, each local government was instructed to expand medical services focusing on municipal and provincial hospitals (105), local medical centers (39), and public health centers (259), and to concentrate local medical capabilities to maintain the essential functions of emergency medical institutions.

The government and local governments have stated that they will respond swiftly and strictly according to laws and principles to doctors' collective actions that threaten the lives and health of the public. Minister Lee said, "Doctors' collective actions that hold the lives and health of the public hostage cannot be justified for any reason," adding, "It is necessary to promptly implement administrative measures according to laws and principles and respond strictly."

Prior to the meeting, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety urgently dispatched regional officers at the director level to the 17 cities and provinces to check the emergency medical system and the response status of local medical sites. These regional officers are responsible for managing the situation at local medical sites while actively identifying difficulties and suggestions from the field and promptly taking action with related agencies. The government plans to upgrade these regional officers to the bureau chief level if necessary to intensively manage areas where public harm is significant or likely to increase.

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