Seoul gives young doctors 4 days to end walkouts, threatening prosecutions or suspended licenses
The South Korean government is giving young doctors on strike four days to return to work
SEOUL, South Korea — Junior doctors in South Korea have four days to end their walkouts, the government said Monday, or they could face prosecution or have their medical licenses suspended.
About 9,000 medical interns and residents have stayed off the job since early last week to protest a government plan to increase medical school admissions by about 65%. The walkouts have severely hurt the operations of their hospitals, with numerous cancellations of surgeries and other treatments.
Government officials say adding more doctors is necessary to deal with South Korea’s rapidly aging population. The country's current doctor-to-patient ratio is among the lowest in the developed world.
The strikers say universities can’t handle so many new students and argue the plan would not resolve a chronic shortage of doctors in some key but low-paying areas like pediatrics and emergency departments.
Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo said during a televised briefing Monday that the government won’t seek any disciplinary action against striking doctors if they return to work by Thursday.
“We want them to return to work by the end of this month, Feb. 29. If they return to the hospitals they had left by then, we won’t hold them responsible” for any damages caused by their walkouts, Park said. “It's not too late. Please, return to patients immediately.”
But he said those who don't meet the deadline will be punished with a minimum three-month suspension of their medical licenses and face further legal steps such as investigations and possible indictments.
Under South Korea’s medical law, the government can issue back-to-work orders to doctors and other
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