▲Prime Minister Han Deok-soo. (Reporter Go Iran photoeran@)
The government is holding a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCHQ) to address the collective action of doctors who opposed the expansion of medical school seats and strengthening government-wide response.
According to Yonhap News on the 22nd, Prime Minister Han Deok-soo is scheduled to preside over the ‘Doctors’ Collective Action Central Committee Meeting’ at the Seoul Government Complex on the morning of the 23rd. This meeting will be attended by officials from related ministries such as the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, as well as local government officials.
Prime Minister Han said in a question to the government at the National Assembly, “The current number of medical school students is lower than in 1994, 30 years ago, and public opinion overwhelmingly supports increasing the number of students.” He added, “I fully listen to the opinions of the medical community, but the medical community has no right to refuse to expand the number of medical school students.” He repeatedly emphasized, “This is not an unreasonable increase in troops.”
Previously, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the responsible ministry, held a crisis assessment committee and decided to raise the health care crisis level from ‘alert’ to ‘severe’, the highest level. The crisis stages are in the order of ‘interest, caution, caution, and serious’.
On the 6th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare established the ‘Doctors’ Collective Action Central Accident Control Headquarters (Heavy Control Center)’ immediately after announcing the size of the increase in medical school capacity, and raised the health care crisis level to ‘alert’.
The government plans to strengthen the response encompassing various related ministries and local governments by opening the Central Disaster and Safety Headquarters, a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister. The Ministry of Health and Welfare has emphasized its policy of administrative measures such as suspension of medical licenses for those who have not returned to work, while the Ministry of Justice, prosecutors, and police have emphasized the principle of arresting and investigating the instigators.
However, as the situation spread further, with the number of majors participating in collective action increasing, the need to strengthen response through cooperation between relevant ministries was raised. As of 10 p.m. on the 21st, 9,275 people submitted resignation letters at 100 major teaching hospitals where most of the residents work. Since the total size of the major is 13,000, more than 7 out of 10 students have submitted a letter of resignation. The number of residents who left their workplace at these 100 hospitals was 8,024, an increase of 211 from the day before.