South Korea begins licence suspension process against striking doctors

SEOUL – South Korea said on March 5 that it would start notifying striking trainee doctors that their medical licences would be suspended, as it

moves to punish medics who have quit hospitals in protest

over training reforms.

Thousands of junior doctors handed in their notice and stopped working two weeks ago to protest against a rise in medical school admissions from 2025.

The government says it is raising enrolment to help combat shortages and meet the demands of an ageing society.

The striking trainees

defied a Feb 29 government deadline for them to return to work

or face legal action, including possible arrest or suspension of their medical licences.

The government has identified some 7,800 junior doctors who have defied the back-to-work order and officials will notify them of their pending licence suspensions starting on March 5, Second Vice-Health Minister Park Min-soo told a press conference.

“As soon as their violations of the back-to-work orders are confirmed, we will send out advance notice of administrative measure starting today,” he said, referring to the licence suspension.

Despite the suspension warning, striking junior doctors have not returned to work on any significant scale, government data shows.

As at March 4, nearly 9,000 trainee doctors remained on walkouts, Mr Park said, a figure that has not significantly changed over the last two weeks.

“The government will respond in accordance with laws and principles to keep acts of threatening people’s lives and health from occurring again,” he added.

The mass work stoppage has taken a toll on hospitals, with crucial treatments and operations cancelled, prompting the government to

raise its public health alert to the highest level

.

Around half of the operations scheduled at some major hospitals have been cancelled since last week, said the health ministry.

Under South Korean law, doctors are restricted from striking, and the government has asked the police to probe those connected to the stoppage.

Junior doctors say the healthcare system’s over-reliance on trainees is unreasonable and unfair. They also argue that the reforms are the last straw in a profession where they already face challenging working conditions, including gruelling hours in emergency rooms.

“I’m anxious and scared,” a resigned trainee doctor, who wished to remain anonymous, said on March 5.

“Personally, I’m questioning whether I truly live in a democratic country.”

The government wants to admit 2,000 more students to medical schools annually from 2025 to address what it calls one of the lowest doctor-to-population ratios among developed nations.

Mr Park said medical colleges have already applied for an increase of 3,401 students in 2025, a figure he said justifies the plan. “It reaffirms the capacity for increase starting next year by far exceeds 2,000,” he added.

Doctors say they fear the reform will erode the quality of service and medical education, but proponents accuse medics of trying to safeguard their salaries and social status.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who has taken a hard line on the striking doctors, has seen his approval ratings tick up.

With legislative elections in April, and Mr Yoon’s party looking to win back a parliamentary majority, the government is unlikely to compromise quickly, analysts said. AFP