On March 22, the South Korean Ministry of Health asked the police to investigate an online post calling for doctors to continue striking to destroy the country's medical system.
The article was posted on medistaff, an online community for doctors, calling on members to continue quitting their jobs, even after the Korean National Assembly election (on April 10). The article asserts that this action will cause "huge irreparable damage to the Korean medical system". The Korean Ministry of Health has asked the police to investigate this article because it considers it a direct threat to people's lives.
On the same day, Mr. Park Myung-ha, a leader of the Korean Medical Association (KMA), was present at the public crime investigation office of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, suspected of instigating Intern doctors went on mass strike. This is the fifth time he has faced police interrogation since last month. Mr. 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 declared there was no room for compromise in allocating an additional 2.000 medical school admissions, although the government continued to seek opportunities to renegotiate with medical community. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo also emphasized that this is a minimum increase to address the shortage of doctors in Korea, especially in rural areas and essential areas such as pediatrics and emergency departments.
The strike of trainee doctors across Korea lasted more than a month, starting on February 19. About 2% of the 90 trainee doctors across Korea simultaneously quit their jobs to protest the government's increase in medical school admission quotas. The mass resignation of trainee doctors has caused disruption of medical services and seriously affected the operations of several large general hospitals in Korea.
OVUM
