[Exclusive] Ministry of Health and Welfare: "Early Return of Departed Residents Will Reduce License Suspension"

"Resident Trainees Leaving Early, Administrative Sanctions Inevitable...
Sanctions Vary Depending on Return Timing
Considering Adjustment of '3-Month' License Suspension Period"

The government is reportedly planning to reduce the license suspension period for resident doctors who submitted their resignation letters and left their workplaces but return by the end of this month as 'early returnees.'

On the 21st, a senior official from the Ministry of Health and Welfare stated, "Administrative license suspension for resident doctors who have left is inevitable," but added, "The '3-month license suspension' period may be adjusted depending on the timing of their return." Currently, 92.7% (11,935) of resident doctors at 100 training hospitals have left the field in opposition to the increase in medical school admissions, but the government intends to differentiate the level of license suspension based on the return timing.

On the 20th, when the results of the medical school admission quota increase distribution that triggered conflicts between the medical community and the government were announced, a medical school official was entering the research building at a university hospital in Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The official explained, "If the individual expresses their intention to return and the return is confirmed, they need to resume medical duties, so imposing a uniform 3-month license suspension might be excessive, and we are considering this." He added, "If early returnees emerge, we will review how long their license suspension period should be." He further noted, "The 3-month license suspension period is not finalized. It was set at 3 months based on past cases, but leniency is possible if they return early."

When asked if the license suspension period could be shortened if resident doctors return to their workplaces in March, the official replied, "Yes, that is the intention." He added, "Returning by March is necessary for the remaining training period to proceed normally, and this has been taken into consideration."

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the license suspension period for resident doctors and other administrative sanctions are reviewed by the 'Administrative Disciplinary Committee.' If any resident doctors return within this month, detailed discussions are expected to take place at the committee.

On the same day, the Ministry announced that if resident doctors who have left do not return by the end of this month, license suspension measures will begin next week. Park Min-su, the 2nd Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, stated at a briefing of the Central Accident Response Headquarters for the doctors' collective action, "Regarding violations of the work commencement order, we will proceed with license suspension measures from next week as a principle."

The resignation of resident doctors began in earnest on February 19-20. The number of resident doctors who did not return by the government's deadline of February 29 is approximately 12,000 based on 100 major training hospitals. Since March 5, the Ministry has been sending pre-notification letters of 3-month license suspension to them.

Vice Minister Park said, "We cannot treat those who return promptly and those who delay their return for a long time equally," adding, "Therefore, there may be advantages in disciplinary measures for early returnees through various methods." He continued, "If they return within March, there will likely be no significant disruption to completing the remaining resident training, so we urge a return by March."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Welfare stated that all training hospitals must complete resident appointment registration in the 'Training Status Management System' by the end of this month. Accordingly, doctors who were scheduled to be hired as interns this year will not be able to apply for residency next year if they do not complete appointment registration by the end of this month due to insufficient training period. Additionally, according to the 'Regulations on Specialist Training and Qualification Recognition,' if a resident experiences a training gap of more than one month, additional training is required. If the additional training period exceeds three months, the acquisition of specialist qualification may be delayed by one year. Resident doctors who have not worked since this month and receive a 3-month license suspension will exceed the additional training period of three months, making it impossible to obtain specialist qualification.

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