[News Terms] What Is a ‘Work Commencement Order’ Triggered by Collective Resignation of Residents?

The government’s planned issuance of a ‘work commencement order’ to residents (interns and residents) who submitted mass resignations in protest against the expansion of medical school admission quotas is one of the directives/orders that the government can impose to forcibly return certain occupational groups to work when their work stoppage or strike is judged to cause or likely to cause a serious crisis to the national economy or the lives of the people. Currently, the occupational groups with legal grounds for the ‘work commencement order’ are medical personnel and freight truck transportation businesses.

On the 16th, residents of the 'Big 5' major hospitals in the Seoul metropolitan area, who oppose the government's plan to increase medical school admissions, are seen moving inside a large hospital in Seoul as they announced their intention to submit resignation letters en masse. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

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In the medical field, the legal basis is found in Article 59 (Guidance and Orders) of the Medical Service Act. According to this provision, the Minister of Health and Welfare or local government heads may issue a work commencement order to medical personnel and medical institution operators if they recognize that medical personnel have stopped treatment without justifiable reasons or that medical institution operators have collectively closed or suspended operations, causing or likely to cause significant disruption to medical services.

It is also stipulated that medical personnel and medical institution operators cannot refuse the work commencement order without justifiable reasons, and failure to comply may result in imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won. Notably, the amended Medical Service Act includes provisions allowing the cancellation of a medical license for a certain period if a medical professional is sentenced to imprisonment or a suspended sentence of imprisonment, or if the sentencing is deferred for such a sentence. This means that residents who do not comply with the government’s work commencement order may have their licenses revoked.

Medical institutions employing doctors who do not comply with the work commencement order may also face suspension of business for up to one year, cancellation of establishment, or closure.

However, the work commencement order must be delivered directly to the concerned party, and disputes may arise if the party claims not to have received the order.

Previously, the government issued a work commencement order in August 2020 when residents and fellows went on strike opposing the expansion of medical school quotas and the establishment of a public medical school. Work commencement orders were also issued during the 2000 pharmaceutical separation incident and the 2014 opposition to telemedicine.

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