S. Korea begins licence suspension process against striking doctors

SEOUL, South Korea: South Korea said Tuesday 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 at training reforms.

Thousands of junior doctors handed in their notice and stopped working two weeks ago to protest against an increase in medical school admissions from next year which the government says is meant to help combat shortages and meet the demands of an ageing society.

The striking trainees have defied a February 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 send them notifications of their pending licence suspensions starting Tuesday, 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,” Park said, referring to the licence suspension.

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

As of Monday nearly 9,000 trainee doctors remained on walkouts, 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,” Park said.