"Don't Work, Just Run Away"... 'Work-to-Rule Directive' for Dispatched Military Doctors and Public Health Doctors

Post Urging Military Doctors and Public Health Doctors to Refuse Treatment Uploaded
Government "Strong Legal Action Against Sabotage Encouragement Guidelines"

A guideline instructing military doctors and public health doctors (Gongbo-ui) dispatched to fill the gap caused by the mass departure of residents on how to refuse work has been posted on an online community used by doctors, sparking controversy.

According to the medical community on the 14th, a post titled "Reposting the Military Doctor and Gongbo-ui Guideline" was recently uploaded on the closed doctor community 'MediStaff.' The author stated, "The most basic mindset is that 'no one at the hospital has the authority to force me to work,'" adding, "If you always keep this in mind, you can avoid working out of unnecessary fear." The post further advised, "Don't answer (your superior's) calls, just say 'Oh, you called? I didn't know,'" or "Running away by saying you're going out for a cigarette is also a good method."

Medical personnel are moving at a university hospital in Seoul on the 11th, where the government dispatched public health doctors (Gongbo-ui) and military doctors to tertiary hospitals.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

It also said, "If you're bored, you can spend time discussing the issue of increasing medical school quotas with patients, and lightly scratching (patients) can also provoke complaints, so it's killing two birds with one stone." The author wrote, "Ultimately, the duty of military doctors and Gongbo-ui is just to arrive and leave on time, and they have absolutely no obligation to do any work at the hospital. Think about how to escape."

'MediStaff' requires doctor authentication to join. However, it is unknown who wrote the post and for what purpose.

Last month, this community also stirred controversy by posting a message urging residents who had announced their resignation to "delete hospital data and change passwords before leaving the hospital." The police, viewing the post as potentially disrupting hospital operations, launched an investigation and the day before arrested the author on charges of obstruction of business.

The government has announced strong legal measures regarding the dissemination of such 'work-to-rule guidelines.' Park Min-su, the 2nd Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, said at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters briefing on doctors' collective actions, "Strong legal measures will be taken against acts that disrupt the normal operation of hospitals," adding, "We will take necessary actions such as requesting investigations after verification."

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