Seoul City Forms Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters... Emergency Measures Implemented (Comprehensive)

Government Raises Health Care Crisis Level to 'Severe'
Seoul City Forms Separate Response Team
Emergency System Activated at Municipal Hospitals and Health Centers
Emergency Rooms at Medical Centers Operate 24-Hour System to Maximum Extent

On the 23rd, starting from 8 a.m., Seoul City formed a Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters and began responding as the government raised the health and medical disaster crisis alert level from 'Caution' to 'Severe.' The Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters is a disaster response organization led by the Mayor as the head and the First Deputy Mayor for Administration as the deputy head. It is composed of six working teams, including the Situation Management Team, Medical and Quarantine Team, and Rescue and Emergency Team.

On the same day, Seoul City held an emergency meeting chaired by the Deputy Head of the Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (First Deputy Mayor for Administration) with related departments such as the Health and Medical Policy Division and Disaster Safety Policy Division, as well as 25 autonomous districts, to check the situation of doctors' collective actions and the emergency medical system and to discuss future response plans. Kim Sang-han, the First Deputy Mayor for Administration, emphasized, "We will do our best to establish an organic cooperation system with autonomous districts, municipal hospitals, and private hospitals to respond quickly and minimize the inconvenience and damage to citizens caused by doctors' collective actions."

On the 23rd, when the medical alert level was raised to severe, outpatient care at Seoul Red Cross Hospital in Jongno-gu, Seoul, is proceeding normally without any departure of residents. However, the current number of patient visits remains sparse, similar to the level before the resident crisis. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

Accordingly, Seoul City immediately entered emergency medical treatment targeting public medical institutions and health centers in the city. Municipal hospitals extended weekday treatment hours until 8 p.m., and some emergency rooms in certain hospitals began operating 24 hours a day.

This measure follows the government's decision to raise the health and medical crisis alert level to 'Severe' from 8 a.m. on the same day. 'Severe' is the highest level among the four alert stages, reflecting the judgment that stronger responses are necessary as the number of residents leaving the field continues to increase and a nationwide doctors' general strike rally is anticipated. Already, more than 8,000 residents who have left the field have not reported to hospitals, and over 10,000 medical students have applied for collective leave of absence.

Seoul City plans to minimize treatment gaps mainly through public medical institutions and health centers. First, eight municipal hospitals (Seoul Medical Center, Boramae, Dongbu, Seonam, Seobuk, Eunpyeong, Bukbu, and Children's Hospital) will extend weekday treatment hours. Weekday treatment, originally operated until 6 p.m., will be extended until 8 p.m., focusing on essential treatment departments such as family medicine, internal medicine, and surgery at each hospital.

Emergency rooms operated by Seoul Medical Center, Boramae Hospital, Dongbu Hospital, and Seonam Hospital will maintain a 24-hour emergency medical service system, as citizens use these facilities in urgent situations, even if some residents resign. In particular, all 25 health centers across Seoul are preparing plans to extend treatment hours to accommodate additional general patients. If private practitioners also join the collective action, treatment hours will be extended through the weekend.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited medical sites for two consecutive days to inspect the emergency medical system and encourage medical staff. Following his visit to Seoul Medical Center on the 21st, he visited Boramae Hospital the previous day to receive a report on emergency medical measures and emphasized, "As public hospitals, Seoul municipal hospitals will do their utmost to minimize medical gaps by establishing a close transfer system with municipal and private hospitals so that patients with severe and emergency conditions can receive treatment without disruption under any circumstances."

The government is also preparing additional measures. At 8:30 a.m. on the same day, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo chaired a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on doctors' collective actions to discuss a whole-of-government response plan. The meeting was attended by related ministries including the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and local governments. When the health and medical disaster crisis alert level is raised to 'Severe,' the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters will change from being chaired by the Minister of Health and Welfare to being chaired by the Prime Minister.

At the meeting, Prime Minister Han stated, "To allow hospitals to hire temporary medical personnel additionally, we have significantly doubled the final treatment fees for severe and emergency patients and relaxed related regulations to enable flexible operation of hospital staff." He also said, "We are assessing the staffing needs of hospitals where essential treatments such as severe and emergency surgeries are delayed and will support public health doctors and military medical officers." Prime Minister Han expressed concern that as of the 22nd, over 8,900 residents have submitted resignation letters, more than 7,800 have left their workplaces, and collective actions by the medical community have intensified with medical students' strike alliances and the Korean Medical Association's large-scale urban rally announcement.

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