'Big 5' Second Half Resident Applicants 'Minimal'... "Cannot Exceed Single Digits"

Expected Return of Residents After Mass Resignation
Applicants Remain '0' or 'Very Few'

In the recruitment of second-half residents starting training this September, most residents did not apply. It is reported that the number of resident applicants is extremely low not only in major hospitals in Seoul, known as the 'Big 5' hospitals, but also in training hospitals across the country.

According to the medical community on the 1st, the recruitment for second-half residents (fall turn), including interns and residents who will begin training this September, closed at 5 p.m. on the 31st of last month. Following the application deadline, additional hiring procedures such as interviews will be conducted by each hospital.

This second-half recruitment involved 126 training hospitals nationwide, planning to select a total of 7,645 residents: 2,525 interns, 1,446 first-year residents, and 3,674 senior residents (2nd to 4th year residents).

The residents collectively resigned in February in protest against the government's increase in medical school admissions and have left their hospitals, with many still not returning.

Earlier, on the 8th of this month, the government withdrew administrative sanctions against all residents regardless of their return status and promised to grant 'training exceptions' to residents who return and those who reapply in the second-half recruitment after resignation.

This includes lifting restrictions on applying for the same year and specialty and allowing additional specialist exams to enable residents to complete their training as much as possible. However, the exceptions are limited to residents who reapply for training in September, and those who do not return in September will not be eligible.

The number of applicants for second-half resident recruitment at major hospitals such as Seoul National University Hospital, Severance Hospital, Seoul Asan Hospital, Samsung Seoul Hospital, and Seoul St. Mary's Hospital was extremely low.

Initially, Seoul National University Hospital planned to recruit 191 residents, including 159 interns and 32 residents, leaving positions vacant for residents who resigned. Severance Hospital announced recruitment for 714 residents (146 interns and 568 residents), Seoul Asan Hospital for 440 (131 interns and 309 residents), Samsung Seoul Hospital for 521 (123 interns and 398 residents), and the Catholic Central Medical Center, which has eight affiliated training hospitals including Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, planned to recruit 1,017 residents (218 interns and 799 residents).

However, as of the application deadline, these hospitals reportedly had either no applicants or single-digit numbers. Seoul National University Hospital, Samsung Seoul Hospital, and Severance Hospital stated that while there were some applicants, the numbers were very small. The Catholic Central Medical Center confirmed that only two applicants applied for orthopedics. In the case of Seoul Asan Hospital, last-minute withdrawals or failure to submit documents after application resulted in zero final applicants.

A representative from one of the Big 5 hospitals said, "We waited until the deadline, but the atmosphere did not change," adding, "Even for major hospitals, there probably won't be any place with more than single-digit applicants."

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