Two Days into Collective Resignation of Residents... Park Wan-su, Governor of Gyeongnam, Urges "Return and Stay by Patients' Side"

Encouraging Medical Staff at Yangsan Pusan National University and Gimhae Gospel Hospitals

Park Wan-su, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, visited Yangsan Busan National University Hospital and Gimhae Gospel Hospital on the 21st, the second day of the collective action by medical residents, to inspect the emergency medical sites.

Governor Park met with Lee Sang-don, Director of Yangsan Busan National University Hospital, to hear about the emergency medical situation and checked the regional emergency medical center and the pediatric specialized emergency center within the hospital.

Park Wan-su, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, is urging medical staff and others to make efforts to minimize medical gaps.
[Photo by Gyeongnam Provincial Government]

The hospital director explained, “We are focusing all efforts on maintaining essential medical services such as the emergency room, intensive care unit, and operating room by establishing a care system centered on attending physicians to eliminate patient inconvenience.”

In response, Governor Park said, “Make sure treatment is prioritized for severe patients as much as possible, and guide mild patients to secondary hospitals to reduce the burden on medical staff. Since the situation may prolong and cause fatigue for both the public and medical personnel, I hope the medical staff return to their posts and stay by the patients' side.”

Governor Park also visited Gimhae Gospel Hospital, the only regional emergency medical center in the Gimhae area including Gimhae, Miryang, and Yangsan, to listen to operational status and inspect medical facilities.

He encouraged, “It is expected that university hospitals will face difficulties in medical response going forward. In this situation, the role of medical institutions like regional emergency medical centers has become more important, so please stay strong.”

Governor Park Wansu of Gyeongnam Province is encouraging pediatric residents at Yangsan Busan National University Hospital while shaking hands with them.
[Photo by Gyeongnam Provincial Government]

Earlier, medical residents at training hospitals including university hospitals nationwide have been engaging in collective action such as submitting resignation letters in protest against the government’s plan to increase the number of medical school students.

Medical school students are also joining in by submitting leave of absence applications and carrying out solidarity leave.

Gyeongnam Province is upgrading the emergency medical situation room to an emergency medical countermeasure headquarters to minimize medical service gaps caused by the medical community’s collective action.

The emergency medical countermeasure headquarters, led by Executive Vice Governor Choi Man-rim, operates with a structure of 3 divisions and 6 teams, including the Situation Management Team, Media Response Team, Emergency Medical Countermeasure Team, Public Response Team, Field Support Team, and Civil Complaint Response Team.

They will strengthen the 24-hour emergency medical system, closely cooperate with cities, counties, and medical institutions, monitor and manage the emergency medical system, and ensure rapid patient transfer and referral through cooperation with related organizations.

To prevent situations where patients cannot receive treatment, public hospital consultation hours will be extended and this information will be actively communicated to residents.

According to Gyeongnam Province, as of 6 p.m. on the 20th, 404 out of 478 medical residents in the province had submitted resignation letters.

Additionally, it is reported that about 80% of the 400 students at Gyeongsang National University College of Medicine have submitted leave of absence applications.

Governor Park said, “Gyeongnam Province prioritizes the lives and health of its residents and will continuously monitor the situation at medical sites. We will devote all efforts to implementing emergency medical countermeasures to thoroughly prevent any medical service gaps.”

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