Korea’s emergency medical system on verge of collapse

Medical professors plan to resign en masse starting next week

Concerns over the collapse of the emergency medical system are intensifying as professors at medical schools nationwide have decided to submit their resignations from their respective universities after March 25.

More than 90 percent of the country’s 13,000 trainee doctors have been on strike for nearly four weeks in protest against the government’s decision to increase enrollment at medical schools by 2,000.

Medical school professors are poised to submit their resignations in a bid to oppose the government’s plan and in support of trainee doctors’ walkout.

Bang Jae-seung, chief of the emergency committee of medical school professors, announced during a press conference on Saturday that professors from at least 16 medical schools across the nation will start submitting their resignations on March 25, urging the government again to reconsider its plan to expand the number of medical school quota.

The remaining four universities are currently gathering opinions on whether to join.

The decision was reached during an online meeting convened by medical professors from 20 universities late Friday, according to the committee. There are a total of 40 medical schools nationwide.

Considering that each university has different schedules for emergency committees, the decision was made to submit a letter of resignation autonomously.

Professors of three universities — Seoul National University, Catholic University and Ulsan University — have already confirmed their intention to resign. These universities are affiliated respectively with Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital and Seoul Asan Medical Center, three of the so-called big five hospitals of Korea.

Professors at Yonsei University and Sungkyunkwan University, whose training hospitals include Severance Hospital and Samsung Medical Center, respectively, the two other hospitals of the big five, are expected to decide on a collective response plan within this week.

“Our decision doesn’t mean that we are abandoning patients. However, if the current situation continues, irreversible harm to public health is inevitable,” Bang said.

However, as the government shows a resolute stance, the confrontation between the government and the medical sector is expected to persist for the time being.

Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo warned during a TV interview, Sunday, that health insurance premiums could triple or quadruple if the issue is addressed solely by raising medical insurance fees without increasing the number of doctors.

“It is an undesirable policy initiative for the public,” Park said.

Doctors have called for the normalization of medical insurance fees before the government increases the medical school quota, claiming that the fees are set too low, with general practitioners being paid less.

Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong also expressed concerns during a government meeting on Friday, stating, “The public may find it difficult to understand medical professors participating in collective action by abandoning patients when they should be focusing on persuading trainee doctors and students to return to their hospitals and schools.”

The government is also accelerating the process for its plan by establishing an allocation committee. The committee, centered around the Ministry of Education, commenced its operation in earnest to determine the distribution of the 2,000 additional students to medical schools for the 2025 academic year.

There are growing concerns that the emergency medical system, which is already unstable, may collapse if the envisaged mass resignation of medical professors, following the departure of trainee doctors, becomes a reality.

After the trainee doctors resigned en masse, major senior hospitals have had to reschedule treatment plans, including surgeries, and have implemented emergency measures such as discharging hospitalized patients to manage bed availability and consolidate wards.

The potential departure of medical professors, who have been crucial in treating patients, may further exacerbate the situation, even making emergency surgeries unfeasible at big hospitals.

In response, the government has proposed measures to mitigate an urgent medical gap by initially deploying military doctors and public health doctors.

The government, which previously deployed 158 public health doctors and military doctors to 20 hospitals, plans to deploy an additional 250 by March 25.

Public anxiety is on the rise about the current situation. According to a Gallup Korea survey, Friday, 69 percent of respondents among 1,002 individuals nationwide aged 18 and above expressed worry about the accessibility of emergency medical services during the conflict.

Meanwhile, negative views of the government’s dealing with the doctors’ strike are also surfacing as the confrontation persists. In response to questions about the government’s handling of the backlash from the medical strike and the medical gap, 49 percent of respondents viewed the government’s responses negatively, while 38 percent believed the government was responding appropriately.

As professors are preparing to leave hospitals, there are increasing calls for the government and medical sector to make concessions gradually.

According to the survey, 41 percent of respondents advocated for making an arbitration plan to adjust the timing and the scale of expanding the medical school quota, while 47 percent stated that the government should proceed with its current plan.