Closing Deadline for Return... Sangmin Lee: "On the Last Day... Please Make a Wise Decision" (Summary)

Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min urged the residents who left the medical field on the 29th to "make a wise decision so that the public no longer worries." The government’s 'return deadline,' set as the last chance to avoid legal action for residents who collectively left hospitals, is now less than a day away. The government unveiled additional support measures, including expanding professors at key national university medical schools and the early opening of regional emergency medical situation rooms.

At the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting on doctors' collective action held at the Government Seoul Office that morning, Minister Lee said, "Today is the last day we are waiting for the residents’ correct judgment and decision," once again urging the residents to return. He expressed concern, saying, "At the medical sites you residents have left, desperate patients are waiting for surgery, and critically ill patients who need urgent treatment are having difficulty accessing hospitals," and "your senior and fellow medical staff are enduring accumulating fatigue day by day and making several times the effort." He added, "Protecting the lives of the people is the reason for the existence of the state and the highest constitutional value," and promised, "As the President has stated, the government will ensure that the public can receive proper treatment anywhere and on time through medical reform."

On the 29th, the final day of the deadline for residents to return set by the government, Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Interior and Safety, attended the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, and delivered opening remarks. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

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The improvement measures Minister Lee introduced that day include expanding professors at key national university medical schools and the early opening of regional emergency medical situation rooms. Specifically, to drastically strengthen essential and regional medical care and improve the quality of medical education, the plan is to increase the number of professors at key national university medical schools by 1,000 by 2027. Minister Lee added, "If necessary during actual operations, we will consider additional reinforcements based on field demand."

He also announced a plan to open the regional emergency medical situation rooms in the metropolitan, Chungcheong, Jeolla, and Gyeongsang regions earlier than the originally scheduled sequential openings by May, setting the date to March 4. The government plans for these regional emergency medical situation rooms to comprehensively manage and coordinate the transfer of severe and critical patients to ensure emergency patients receive timely treatment.

Minister Lee also expressed gratitude to the doctors and nurses on the front lines and to the public. He said, "I deeply thank the doctors and nurses who are protecting the medical field beside patients and saving precious lives," and "I also deeply appreciate the mature civic consciousness shown by the public despite the chaos in the medical field."

Earlier, the government set March 29 as the final deadline for residents who collectively submitted resignations and stopped working to return. The government’s official stance is that those who return by this date will not be held accountable. Preparations for legal proceedings starting in March, including filing complaints against current and former executives of the Korean Medical Association (KMA) and issuing work commencement orders by visiting residents’ homes, have already been completed.

In particular, the government visited some residents’ homes the day before to deliver orders directly. This measure targets residents who avoided work commencement orders sent by mail or text message. This strategy is seen as an effort to ensure the effectiveness of order delivery, avoid controversy during subsequent procedures, and gain an advantage in the complaint process. Currently, the government warns that failure to comply with work commencement orders may result in license revocation under charges of violating the Medical Service Act.

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Confusion at the scene remains. According to the Central Countermeasures Headquarters, as of 7 p.m. on the 27th, 9,937 residents, accounting for 80.8% of residents at 99 training hospitals, had submitted resignations. About 8,992 residents, or approximately 73.1% of residents, were confirmed to have left their workplaces.

As the deadline approaches, some residents have been observed returning. Twelve residents at Konkuk University Hospital in Seoul returned as of the 26th, and at Chonnam National University Hospital, seven of the 119 residents who received work commencement orders returned by last week. At Chosun University Hospital, seven out of 113 residents were also reported to have returned. Additionally, there are reports of prospective interns who had given up their appointments next month reversing their decisions and expressing willingness to participate in training.

However, public harm is increasing. As of 6 p.m. on the 27th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s 'Doctor Collective Action Damage Report and Support Center' received 48 consultations on the day. Among these, 26 damage reports were filed. Of the 26 damage reports, 21 were related to surgery delays, making up the majority. Since the center began operations on the 19th, a total of 671 consultations have been received, with 304 damage reports filed.

There is still a final variable. The Ministry of Health and Welfare sent text messages to residents the day before, informing them to meet and talk at 4 p.m. on the 29th in the large conference room of the Seoul Regional Headquarters of the National Health Insurance Service in Yeouido, Seoul. In a notice titled "We Propose a Dialogue to Residents," signed by Deputy Minister Park Min-su, the ministry stated, "We have proposed dialogue several times through official announcements and contacted representatives, but since we have not been able to reach them, we are informing you of the time and place," and added, "Representatives of the Korean Intern Resident Association, representatives of each training hospital, and any resident can participate." If the meeting takes place, it will be the first official meeting between the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the residents since the collective resignation incident on the 20th.

Meanwhile, the police have assigned the complaint case against current and former KMA executives to the Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. The police plan to request an arrest warrant from the prosecution if the accused fail to appear without a valid reason. The prosecution has also agreed to closely cooperate with the police regarding the illegal collective action by the medical community, which directly threatens the lives and health of the public.

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