Professors at Sungkyunkwan University Submit Resignations on the 28th... Join Collective Resignation

"'2,000 Personnel Increase' Not Found Even in KDI Report"

A view of a medical school in Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Professors at Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, which has Samsung Seoul Hospital?one of the 'Big 5' hospitals?as its training hospital, have decided to submit their resignation letters on the 28th.

The Emergency Response Committee of Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine announced on the 26th that this decision was made during a meeting held the previous day, which included professors from the Department of Basic Medical Sciences at Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Samsung Seoul Hospital, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, and Samsung Changwon Hospital.

Currently, the resignation letters are being collected by the Emergency Response Committee, which plans to reconfirm each professor’s intention to resign before collectively submitting the letters to the hospital and university.

The Emergency Response Committee of Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine stated, "The government should stop pushing forward with the reckless medical school expansion policy before it is too late and begin discussions on the essential medical care policy package. We hope the government listens to the professors’ voices, who are submitting resignation letters to prevent the collapse of the medical system." They further urged, "Listen to the voices of residents and start sincere dialogue."

The committee also pointed out that the Korea Development Institute (KDI) report, which the government referred to when promoting the medical school expansion policy, does not mention the figure '2000.' They said, "The government insists that the increase of 2000 medical students is an unchangeable constant, but the KDI recommended a 5% increase by 2030 and suggested that the initial increase of 153 students would be appropriate." However, they clarified that they do not necessarily agree with the scale of increase mentioned in the KDI report.

Professor Choi Yong-su from the Emergency Response Committee said, "Our official position is that the government should reconsider the medical school expansion from scratch. We pointed out that even the data the government used as a basis for policy promotion is being distorted."

The committee also revealed that a survey conducted from the 15th to the 19th of this month among 880 affiliated professors showed that 83.1% of respondents supported voluntary resignation and working the legal 40-hour workweek.

Meanwhile, professors at Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Ulsan University Schools of Medicine, which also have 'Big 5' hospitals as their training hospitals, have been voluntarily submitting resignation letters since the previous day. Professors at Catholic University School of Medicine plan to hold a meeting on the 27th to discuss specific matters related to submitting resignation letters.

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