▲ Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong speaks during a press briefing held in Seoul on June 4, 2024. (Yonhap)
▲ This photo taken on June 4, 2024, shows a general hospital on Seoul. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) doctors-walkout

(LEAD) Hospitals allowed to accept resignations of trainee doctors: health minister

(ATTN: UPDATES with health minister's remarks; CHANGES headline, photos)

SEOUL, June 4 (Yonhap) -- Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong said Tuesday hospitals were allowed to accept resignations of trainee doctors, in what government officials say a move to help them seek other career paths or return to hospitals.

Cho also said the government withdrew a return-to-work order for trainee doctors, saying that the government will halt an administrative step to punish them if they return to hospitals.

For months, the government has ordered trainee doctors, who have remained off the job since late February in protest of the government's plan to boost the number of medical students, to return to hospitals, while banning hospitals from accepting their resignations.

"If trainee doctors return, we will stop the administrative process so that they can concentrate on training without any legal burden," Cho told reporters.

The government made the decision to "ensure that the medical vacuum does not grow further," Cho said.

Late last month, the government finalized the admission quota hike of some 1,500, marking the first such increase in 27 years.

With the admissions hike fixed, the government has weighed taking concessional steps to soothe the trainee doctors.

Still, it remains uncertain how many trainee doctors would find jobs at other hospitals or return to their worksites.

The government has been seeking to take conciliatory steps to soothe the trainee doctors.

Cho also said the government will make efforts to ensure junior doctors can complete their training without disruptions, allowing them to obtain medical fellowships on time by adjusting their training schedules.

About 12,000 trainee doctors have left their worksites, causing disruptions in public health services at major hospitals.

The medical community, meanwhile, remained unresponsive to the government's call to engage in dialogue, calling for the complete scrapping of the medical reform plan before launching any form of talks.

The Korea Medical Association, the largest doctors' organization, plans to vote this week on whether to carry out a strike, including the participation of community doctors.

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