Korean Prime Minister: "Will Not Tolerate Personal Violence Against Colleagues Returning to Medical Field"

Medical Professionals' Collective Action Led by Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters
Korea "Cannot Accept Unfounded Opposition to Medical Reform"
Discussion on Improving Resident Doctors' Treatment at Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo warned on the 8th that he will "not stand idly by" against acts of publicly disclosing personal information of residents and others who have returned to medical sites online or attacking them.

In his opening remarks at the 'Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) for Doctors' Collective Action' held at the Government Seoul Office in the afternoon, Prime Minister Han said, "It is unimaginable that residents who left patients' sides are not even thinking about returning to the field, but are criticizing their colleagues to prevent them from returning, and are harshly attacking those who courageously returned to the medical field first."

Cases of publicly disclosing the real names and alma maters of residents who have returned to the field online, openly ostracizing and bullying them in group chat rooms with multiple people, thereby breaking their will to return to the field, are occurring one after another.

Regarding this, Prime Minister Han said, "If you are an intellectual, especially a medical professional who saves lives, such words and actions should not be done," adding, "It is personal violence against colleagues and seniors and juniors, and an act that causes disappointment and anger among the public." He instructed, "The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Police Agency should clearly investigate and take action on the matter."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

To some doctors who are unconditionally opposing the government's medical reform policies, he said, "The government is always open to reasonable criticism and constructive advice," but criticized, "However, it is unacceptable to insist without clear evidence that 'we cannot trust the government’s words, so we cannot support the medical reform the government proposes.'"

He continued, "Some hardline figures in medical organizations are misleading the public in exactly that way regarding the four major medical reform tasks prepared by the government," and pointed out, "I find this very regrettable."

He reiterated the necessity of medical reform, led by increasing the number of medical school quotas, and the progress of the four major tasks. Prime Minister Han explained, "Medical reform is an urgent task that can no longer be postponed to protect the lives and health of our people," adding, "We promised to invest more than 10 trillion won to raise the fees for essential medical services, and since early this year, we have already invested 1 trillion won to increase fees for several essential medical items, including childbirth." He added, "We have also prepared the Medical Accident Special Act so that medical professionals can focus on treatment without being burdened by excessive legal responsibilities, and disclosed it to the public," and "It has been confirmed to increase the number of national university medical school professors by 1,000 within three years."

Prime Minister Han also emphasized the government's willingness to listen to the Nursing Association's push for a new nursing law, and explained that the CDSCH would discuss measures to improve residents' treatment on the same day. He mentioned, "I believe medical reform should be promoted with the participation of doctors, nurses, patients, health experts, and the public." Regarding residents' treatment, topics include monthly training cost support of 1 million won for pediatric residents, expansion to residents in essential medical subjects, opening counseling channels for residents, and breaking the practice of continuous 36-hour shifts.

Furthermore, he promised to do his best to support medical staff caring for patients in the medical field. Prime Minister Han said, "We have already decided to allocate 128.5 billion won from the government’s contingency fund, and from this month, we plan to support more than 188.2 billion won monthly from health insurance," adding, "Through this, we will increase medical staff’s on-call allowances up to 450,000 won per weekday, and also support additional personnel recruitment costs. We will promote post-compensation for inpatient care of critically ill patients and strengthen compensation for emergency room specialists."

He also expressed his gratitude to the public supporting the government's medical reform and to the medical staff including specialists, residents, and nurses remaining in hospitals, while urging residents who have not yet returned to come back to the hospitals.

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