Professors at University Hospitals Including Seoul Asan and Seongmo Hospitals Call in Sick to "Prevent Exhaustion"

Some professors at Seoul Asan Medical Center and Seoul St. Mary's Hospital will take a day off on the 3rd due to accumulated fatigue from overwork.

According to the medical community, professors at Seoul Asan Medical Center and Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, two of the 'Big 5' major tertiary hospitals in Seoul, will suspend outpatient care and surgeries for one day.

The Emergency Response Committee of the Ulsan Medical School Professors' Council, which includes Seoul Asan Medical Center, Ulsan University Hospital, and Gangneung Asan Hospital as training hospitals, announced the day before that "Professors affiliated with Ulsan Medical School hospitals will take a day off on May 3rd and hold a closed seminar at the Seoul Asan Medical Center auditorium on the theme of 'The 2024 Medical Crisis and the Future Direction of Ulsan Medical School Teaching Hospitals.'"

Before the seminar, the professors plan to hold a picket protest at 9 a.m. at the main gate of Seoul Asan Medical Center, demanding the withdrawal of this year's medical school enrollment increase policy.

Professors at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital have decided not to conduct outpatient care or non-urgent surgeries every Friday starting from that day.

The Emergency Response Committee of the Seoul St. Mary's Hospital Professors' Council previously stated, "In the prolonged medical emergency situation, to prevent exhaustion of medical staff and medical accidents, we have decided to recommend suspending outpatient care and non-emergency surgeries once a week on Fridays starting in May," adding, "Depending on the situation of the medical staff, other days for suspension may also be chosen."

These hospitals clarified that the hospitals are not officially closing, but some professors are individually taking days off.