Over 400 Professors at Seoul National University College of Medicine Submit Resignation Letters in Solidarity: "Government Decision Needed"

Emergency General Meeting Held and Resignation Letter Submitted
"If Residents Leave, South Korea's Medical Care Will Regress"

Seoul National University College of Medicine Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

Over 400 professors from Seoul National University College of Medicine have decided to submit their resignations.

The Emergency Response Committee of Seoul National University College of Medicine and Seoul National University Hospital (SNUCM Emergency Committee) held an emergency general meeting on the 25th with faculty members from four hospitals: Seoul National University Hospital, Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul Metropolitan Boramae Hospital, and Gangnam Center, and resolved to submit their resignation letters.

In a statement released that day, the SNUCM Emergency Committee said, "The government must now undertake genuine medical reform. For the development of the people and Korea's healthcare, we urge an immediate halt to the current policy of increasing medical school admissions."

The committee stated, "Since the announcement of the essential medical package policy, 10,000 residents and 13,000 medical students have left hospitals and schools," adding, "As doctors responsible for public health and as mentors who must educate residents and medical students, we feel not just devastation but utter despair."

They continued, "If the 10,000 residents do not return, Korea's healthcare will regress by at least five years," emphasizing, "Since it takes much longer to restore a broken healthcare system, we are at a crossroads."

Finally, they urged, "A government decision is needed to heal the severe divisions and conflicts and to restore Korea's declining healthcare system to its proper place."

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