Prime Minister Han: "Government and Residents' Dialogue Opens... Continuing Talks While Upholding Principles"

"Too Many Sacrifices Demanded from Residents"
"Expanding Training Costs and Promoting Reduced Working Hours"
"Government's Reform Will Is Firm... Also Open to Dialogue"

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo attended the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on the afternoon of the 5th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, to respond to the doctors' collective action. He explained the government's position regarding the meeting held the previous day between President Yoon Seok-yeol and Park Dan, chairman of the Daehan Junior Resident Association (Daejeonhyeop) Emergency Response Committee.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo commented on the previous day's meeting between President Yoon Seok-yeol and representatives of resident doctors, saying, "We have just begun the dialogue," and added, "We will continue to engage in conversations flexibly while adhering to principles."

At the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on medical professionals' collective action held at the Government Seoul Office on the morning of the 5th, Prime Minister Han stated, "The government cannot exist without the people, and doctors cannot exist without patients."

He pointed out, "The government is ready to open its heart and ears to listen not only to resident doctors but also to other members of the medical community," adding, "The suffering experienced by our patients and citizens is too great for us to be in conflict and exclusion."

Prime Minister Han reiterated incentives, promising to reduce the brutal workload of resident doctors and provide appropriate compensation.

He explained, "Improving the training conditions for resident doctors is also an important task," and added, "Most resident doctors have chosen essential medical fields, are valuable human resources of the Republic of Korea, and are the future leaders of healthcare. Our medical system has demanded too many sacrifices from them."

He continued, "The government is well aware that resident doctors are working long hours under intense working conditions," and said, "Therefore, through this medical reform, we intend to decisively change the training environment."

To this end, Prime Minister Han emphasized that the government will implement a national responsibility system for resident training costs to expand support for these expenses, introduce a new 1 million KRW training cost for pediatrics and adolescent medicine, and increase support for resident doctors in other essential medical fields.

He also explained that a pilot project will begin in May to significantly reduce the continuous working hours of resident doctors from 36 hours, and that the 80-hour weekly working limit will be shortened through discussions.

Prime Minister Han said, "We will conduct a resident training status survey every three years and operate a resident protection reporting center to continuously improve the training environment," and added, "We hope that resident doctors will participate in all these processes."

He reaffirmed the government's commitment to advancing medical reform.

He stated, "The government's determination for reform is firm. We are open to dialogue," and urged, "I repeatedly ask you to trust the government's goodwill and sincerity and to engage in dialogue."

He added, "Efforts to complete medical reform are ongoing. The government holds weekly forums to explain the details of medical reform to the public," and said, "Today, a forum titled 'The Role of Health Insurance in Strengthening Essential Medical Care' will be held. We will invite medical school professors, patient group representatives, and others to gather diverse opinions on the direction of health insurance investment in essential medical care."

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