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| ▲ Park Hyung-wook (C), vice president of the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences, is seen in this May 13, 2024, file photo. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
doctors group-new chief
New doctors' group chief urges Yoon to resolve gov't-medical standoff
SEOUL, Nov. 13 (Yonhap) -- The newly elected chief of South Korea's largest doctors' advocacy group on Wednesday urged President Yoon Suk Yeol to revise his medical reform to resolve the prolonged walkout by trainee doctors.
Park Hyung-wook made the call after being elected as the new chief of the emergency committee of the Korean Medical Association (KMA), as thousands of trainee doctors and medical professors have been on a prolonged walkout over the government's medical reform, which includes a sharp increase in the medical school admission quota.
"President Yoon Suk Yeol is the only one who can improve policies to allow trainee doctors to return (to duty), and unless the president changes, the problem will persist and the people will continue to suffer from the medical crisis," he said.
In a bid to address a shortage of doctors in essential medical fields and rural areas, the government has raised the medical school quota by around 2,000 annually for the next five years.
In protest of the government's decision, thousands of junior doctors have left their workplaces in mass resignation since February, causing major disruptions to the national healthcare service.
Earlier this week, a consultative body involving the ruling People Power Party, the government and doctors' groups was launched to explore ways to end the walkout.
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