Medical professors in South Korea use mass resignations as a form of blackmail

Seoul, March 17 (IANS) – South Korea’s Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo has accused medical professors of resorting to blackmail tactics amid ongoing tensions between trainee doctors and the government over enrollment at medical schools.

Last week, professors from 16 medical schools announced plans to collectively resign on March 25 in protest against the government’s decision to increase the medical school quota by 2,000. This move comes after 90% of the country’s 13,000 trainee doctors went on strike for nearly four weeks through mass resignations.

Park Min-soo stated, “Even professors have declared that they would resign collectively unless their demand is met. This is huge blackmail against people. We have to break the cycle of collective action in the medical sector.” The government aims to address the shortage of physicians in rural areas by increasing the number of medical students.

However, doctors argue that the quota hike could lead to an excess of physicians, compromising the quality of medical care and escalating medical costs for patients. They are pushing for measures to address underpaid specialists and improve legal protection against medical malpractice lawsuits.

Furthermore, Park rejected calls for raising health insurance payments to doctors, emphasizing that such hikes without increasing the medical school quota could result in a significant rise in health insurance premiums. He stressed that doctors should not neglect their patients due to concerns about government policies.

“Professors say they will not stand still if their pupils face disadvantage, and this is a remark that challenged the rule of law,” Park added. The impasse between doctors and the government continues as both sides stand firm on their demands and concerns.