Seoul National University Medical School Professors Request 'Communication Channel' from Government: "Do Not Fuel Medical Crisis"

"Residents Should Be Persuaded, Not Threatened, to Return"
"University Presidents Who Inflated Medical School Enrollment Demand Must Also Be Held Accountable"

Professors at Seoul National University College of Medicine have requested the government to create regular communication channels with professors, emphasizing that residents should be persuaded to return to medical sites.

Jung Jin-haeng, chairman of the Seoul National University College of Medicine Professors' Association Emergency Committee, is answering reporters' questions after an emergency meeting with residents on the morning of the 26th at Seoul National University College of Medicine in Jongno-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The Emergency Response Committee of the Seoul National University College of Medicine Professors' Association issued a statement with this content on the morning of the 26th at 7:30 AM in the main auditorium of the College of Medicine. The meeting was held as the '1st Face-to-Face Report Meeting' to explain the committee's activities and exit strategies for the situation to professors and residents and to share opinions. About 80 professors and residents attended.

In the statement, the committee said, "Residents are leaving the field according to their own will, and measures to reverse this should rely on persuasion rather than threats or coercion," adding, "If the government's actions toward our students are legally unjust, we will also respond to judicial risks."

They continued, "Dialogue takes precedence over everything. We request the government to establish communication channels with medical school professors and to meet regularly for dialogue to resolve the issues," and proposed, "Instead of holding substantive consultations before the general election in April, we suggest continuing agenda setting and basic mutual exchange of opinions during this period."

After the meeting, Jeong Jin-haeng, chairman of the Emergency Committee of the Seoul National University College of Medicine Professors' Association, criticized the unfairness of the demand survey for increasing medical school admissions and negative perceptions toward residents. He said, "Wasn't it a survey of hopes rather than demand? Increasing medical school admissions should consider scientific simulations and side effects, not just survey hopes. The line that reported to the president that the number was insufficient should be immediately held accountable." He added, "There are voices inside demanding the resignation of presidents who inflated the scale in the demand survey for medical school admissions," urging, "Presidents should also take responsibility."

He also pointed out the expression "medical crisis." Chairman Jeong said, "Professors responsible for essential medical systems are working continuously for 160 hours at hospitals," and asked, "Is there anyone among our citizens who cannot go to the emergency room? The government and media that are inciting the idea of a 'medical crisis' should reflect."

Regarding concerns about delays in cancer surgeries, he dismissed them by saying, "Cancer surgeries are originally scheduled surgeries, not emergency surgeries," explaining, "They go through various tests and stages, and emergencies are diseases requiring immediate surgery or treatment."

He also criticized the scale of increasing medical school admissions by 2,000. He said, "Doctors are a group that can create patients," and added, "Experts are dangerous because they can create what they live on. That is why accurate numbers are necessary, and even in the West, the number of doctors is not increased recklessly."

He further stated, "The government should take responsibility for labeling residents with the 'devil frame,'" and said, "Responsibility should be asked of those who did wrong. Please retract those words. Apologize."

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