South Korea publicly orders some doctors who walked off the job back to work
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South Korean doctors marching to the Presidential Office in Seoul to protest against the government’s medical policy on Feb 25.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SEOUL - South Korea’s government late on March 1 publicly ordered 13 doctors – some of whom have been vocal about a walkout by roughly 9,000 physicians over a health system reform plan
The public legal notice is the latest sign of the South Korean government’s continued hardline stance towards trainee doctors participating in the walkout or criticising the reform plan, after local police raided a doctor’s association on March 1, a public holiday in South Korea.
The Health Ministry posted on its website the licence numbers and hospitals of 13 doctors, ordering them to return to work or potentially have their licence suspended or face criminal charges.
The doctors’ names were partially redacted, but at least some appeared to be trainee doctors who had been especially vocal about the walkout and critical of the government. They include Dr Park Dan, head of the Korea Interns and Residents Association.
The authorities on March 1 stepped up pressure to end the walkout, with South Korean police launching a raid targeting officials of the Korean Medical Association.
The government had given Feb 29 as the deadline for the doctors to return or face penalties. However, health ministry data showed more than two-thirds of the trainee doctors, or nearly 9,000, had ignored the call to return to work.
Doctors are planning a mass demonstration on March 3 to protest against the government’s plan to raise medical school admissions by 2,000, starting from 2025, to remedy what it said is a shortage of doctors in one of the world’s fastest-ageing societies. REUTERS
