"Retaliation Against the Ministry of Health with False Medical Claims... Controversy Over Manipulated Posts in Doctor Community Removing 'Normal Tissue'"

As residents opposing the increase in medical school admissions have begun collective action by leaving hospitals, numerous posts containing statements such as "We will take revenge by providing false medical treatment to Ministry of Health and Welfare officials and their families" have been posted on a doctors' community, sparking public outrage. However, the community stated that these posts were "fabricated."

On the 24th, Yonhap News reported that the posts causing public outrage in the doctors' community on various online platforms were fabricated.

On the 23rd, the fourth day of collective action by residents opposing the government's plan to increase medical school quotas, a notice restricting medical services is posted in the emergency room of Chungbuk National University Hospital.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

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In a post titled "Ministry of Health and Welfare bureaucrats, watch this," a warning was issued saying, "If you or your family come to my outpatient clinic in the future, you will suffer because of my prescriptions," adding, "I cannot deliberately prescribe poison, but I can leave your HbA1c at 7.5 when it could be lowered to 6, and I can make your blood pressure 150/100 instead of 130/80." It also stated, "If your children come with swollen necks, I will only give them a little syrup, making them suffer for a month when they could recover in a week. I will do my best to ensure your families never receive proper diagnosis or treatment." The post approached 30,000 views and received 4,614 'likes.' Of the approximately 2,000 comments, most expressed agreement with responses such as "I recommend this," "This is a good method," and "I will join."

Another post titled "A Ministry of Health and Welfare official came for revenge" posted on the 14th described a case where a Ministry official visiting the hospital for a gastroscopy was told that normal tissue was removed and there was a possibility of malignant tumor. The post accused doctors opposing the government of neglecting professional ethics and deliberately providing false medical treatment.

As this post spread, public outrage toward doctors increased, but a representative of the doctors' community stated, "Such posts were never uploaded on our site and we understand they circulated on other communities before being deleted. The post numbers, recommendation images, and formats do not match our site, so it appears to be 100% fabricated. We are also tracing the source of the posts."

According to the government, as of the 22nd, over 8,900 residents from about 100 hospitals with the highest number of residents submitted resignation letters, and among them, over 7,800 left their workplaces.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare is pressuring doctors who left their workplaces to return by threatening suspension or revocation of medical licenses. Violating the order to resume work may result in license suspension under Article 66 of the Medical Service Act or imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won under Article 88.

Amid the sharp confrontation between the government and the medical community, an emergency response committee composed of professors from Seoul National University College of Medicine and Hospital has also stepped forward. Warning that "this weekend is the golden time" regarding the medical service gap, they stated, "If the government does not take acceptable measures, we will have no choice but to act together with residents (interns and residents)." This indicates that even professors may join the collective strike.

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