Government Reviews Whether Medical Association's Collective Action Inducement Violates Fair Trade Act (Comprehensive)

"Collective Refusal of Medical Treatment Is a Clear Illegal Act...
Orders for Clinic Doctors to Provide Treatment and to Report Closure"

The government announced that it will begin a legal review to determine whether the Korea Medical Association (KMA), which has decided to hold a collective strike involving all private practitioners nationwide on the 18th, has violated the Fair Trade Act. Regarding the collective strike, the government criticized it as "a clear illegal act" and stated that "collective refusal to provide medical care abandons the ethical and professional duties of doctors who prioritize patients' lives above all else." The government plans to issue medical treatment orders and strike notification orders to private practitioners based on the Medical Service Act.

On the morning of the 10th, Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong said at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on doctors' collective action, "This is the minimum necessary measure to protect the lives and health of the public in response to the medical community's collective strike."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Minister Cho stated, "A collective refusal to provide medical care by the entire medical community is an absolutely unacceptable act that threatens the lives of the public and patients," adding, "It destroys the public interest value of medical care and the social trust in doctors that has been built over a long period, which the public will never tolerate." He continued, "The government will make every effort to persuade and communicate until the last moment to prevent the collective refusal from materializing, and will prepare all measures, including strengthening emergency medical systems, to ensure there is no disruption in protecting public life."

The government decided, after discussion at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, to issue medical treatment orders and strike notification orders to private practitioners based on the Medical Service Act. It also mentioned the KMA as "the association inducing collective action" and plans to review whether it has violated the Fair Trade Act.

Minister Cho said, "It is time to unite in medical reform that can save lives through dialogue, not collective actions that threaten public life," adding, "The government is currently attempting to initiate contact to arrange dialogue with the medical community and will immediately engage in talks once a response is received."

Meanwhile, the government is concretizing medical reform tasks centered on the 'Special Committee on Medical Reform.'

This week, two expert committees under the special committee will be held to review innovation models for tertiary hospitals, such as 'specialist-centered operation,' and discuss ways to protect both patients and medical personnel from medical accidents.

On the 13th, the Delivery System and Regional Medical Expert Committee will be held to discuss operational innovation plans that allow tertiary hospitals to focus on severe care centered on skilled specialists while strengthening education and research functions. It was explained that comprehensive approaches involving fees, delivery systems, and workforce composition are required for innovation in the operational structure of tertiary hospitals, so in-depth discussions with various experts in each field will be conducted.

On the 14th, the Medical Accident Safety Net Expert Committee will be held to focus on reviewing proposed tasks from patients and civil society organizations aimed at strengthening patient rights protection. The government expects that this will lay the foundation for enacting the 'Special Act on Medical Accident Handling.'

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