South Korea: Health Ministry orders investigation into calls to destroy health system

On March 22, the South Korean Health Ministry asked the police to investigate an online post calling on doctors to continue their strike in order to destroy the country's health system.

Medical staff at a hospital in Seoul, South Korea on March 20. Photo: YONHAP

The post, posted on medistaff, an online community for doctors, urged members to continue to quit their jobs, even after the upcoming South Korean National Assembly elections (April 10). The post asserted that this action would cause "huge and irreparable damage to the Korean medical system." The South Korean Ministry of Health has asked the police to investigate the post, considering it a direct threat to people's lives.

On the same day, Park Myung-ha, a leader of the Korean Medical Association (KMA), appeared at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's public crime investigation office on suspicion of inciting the mass strike by trainee doctors. This was the fifth time he had faced police questioning since last month. Park Myung-ha announced that he would file a class-action lawsuit to reverse the situation, and called on the government to engage in dialogue with doctors to find a compromise solution.

However, Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong said there was no room for compromise in allocating 2,000 more medical school spots, although the government continued to seek opportunities to renegotiate with the medical community. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo also stressed that this was a minimum increase to address the shortage of doctors in Korea, especially in rural areas and essential areas such as pediatrics and emergency departments.

A nationwide strike by trainee doctors has lasted for more than a month, starting on February 19. About 90% of the 13,000 trainee doctors across Korea have quit their jobs to protest the government's increase in enrollment quotas for medical schools. The mass resignation of trainee doctors has disrupted medical services and seriously affected the operations of several major general hospitals in Korea.

PEARL

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