Articles by Park Jun-hee
Park Jun-hee
junheee@heraldcorp.com-
Health care standoff worsens as professors threaten to leave hospitals
Further uncertainty is hovering over South Korea’s critical care system, as medical professors, who have been filling the vacuum left by junior doctors walking out, warned they too could walk out in protest against the government’s expansion plan. The Medical Professors Association of Korea -- a coalition of professors from 33 medical schools -- issued a statement Tuesday that the group would take collective action “if any damage is inflicted” on trainee doctors or medica
Social Affairs March 12, 2024
-
[Herald Interview] Med school expansion won’t solve health care shortage: WMA president
The South Korean government’s decision to add 2,000 new spots in medical school admissions is not a solution to alleviate the immediate needs of medically underserved or specialty areas, according to Dr. Lujain Al-Qodmani, the president of the World Medical Association. In an exclusive written interview with The Korea Herald, the WMA head said the government’s decision overlooked the complexities of medical education and health care delivery and risks unintended consequences. Al-Qodm
Social Affairs March 12, 2024
-
Govt. to set up reporting center to ensure trainee doctors’ safe return to hospitals
The South Korean government said Friday it would set up a reporting center within the Ministry of Health and Welfare dedicated to ensuring trainee doctors’ safe return to hospitals as their protest against the expansion plan entered its third week. The center aims to prevent the direct and indirect harm that junior doctors who wish to return to their positions may suffer, as an list of returning doctors was posted online recently. Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo said during Friday
Social Affairs March 8, 2024
-
Medical professors quit in droves over expansion plan
Medical professors are quitting in droves in a show of protest against the Korean government’s planned hike in the medical school enrollment quota, as they join trainee doctors in taking collective action. The dean’s group at Kyungpook National University School of Medicine issued a statement late Thursday that they would resign collectively “to take full responsibility for the situation,” according to the Daegu Medical Association on Friday. “We’ve openly exp
Social Affairs March 8, 2024
-
S. Korea to inject W188b to fill in medical void amid doctors’ protest
The South Korean government announced Thursday that it would spend 188.2 billion won ($141 million) from the state health insurance fund for a month to address the medical care gap left by trainee doctors’ collective walkouts that started three weeks ago. The provision of the funds will start Monday, and the same amount will be spent in the following month if the medical crisis continues. Jun Byung-wang, a policy chief at the Health Ministry, said during Thursday’s briefing that the
Social Affairs March 7, 2024
-
Professors sue health ministry over med school expansion plan
Faculty councils of 33 medical schools filed for an injunction Tuesday against the planned hike in medical school enrollment quotas, along with an administrative lawsuit against the Health Ministry, reports said the same day, citing education and health authorities. This comes after 40 medical schools nationwide have collectively requested an increase in the annual student quota by 3,401 in a government survey. The professors say the schools made their decisions without heeding their opinions. M
Social Affairs March 6, 2024
-
Med schools demand over 3,400 new student seats despite protests
South Korea’s 40 medical schools have collectively requested an increase in the annual student quota by 3,401 starting in 2025, defying doctors’ calls to resist the government’s plan to expand the quota by 2,000 a year. The figure, 1.7 times higher than the planned increase of 2,000 students, is expected to bolster the government’s quota expansion push, which has been encountering strong opposition from doctors, medical students and professors who walked out of hospitals
Social Affairs March 5, 2024
-
Seoul starts to suspend license of 7,000 unreturned doctors
The South Korean government on Monday started taking legal steps against some 7,000 trainee doctors who refused to return to work by moving to suspend their licenses for at least three months. Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo said during Monday’s briefing that those who defy the government’s return-to-work orders would be notified of their license suspension on Tuesday. Health authorities have begun on-site investigations at 50 training hospitals to determine the exact number
Social Affairs March 4, 2024
-
[From the Scene] Day of Rage: Doctors resist pressure to bend
Expressing frustration and anger at the South Korean government’s recent decision to increase the annual medical school quota by 2,000 starting in 2025, tens of thousands of doctors, interns, residents and medical students walked the picket line Sunday afternoon to urge a reversal of the planned hike. Chants of “Let’s fight together, let’s win together” reverberated through the crowd, reflecting determination even as the government has issued repeated warnings that
Social Affairs March 3, 2024
-
[KH Explains] Why doctors refuse to bend despite lack of public support
The recent mass walkout by junior doctors has led to unprecedented disruptions in South Korea’s otherwise well-regarded medical system. Both the government and doctors’ groups have refused to bend over plans to increase the number of places at medical schools. Both sides amped up their publicity efforts rather than actively seeking a compromise, as the government’s Thursday deadline for junior doctors to return to work loomed. The government has reiterated the need for medica
Social Affairs Feb. 29, 2024
-
Police launch probe against 5 protesting doctors
Police said Wednesday they launched an investigation against five protesting doctors affiliated with the Korea Medical Association, the country’s largest doctors’ group, for charges of breaching medical law. Officials added that the case had been assigned to the public crime investigation division under the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. The announcement came a day after the health ministry filed complaints against the five, marking the first instance of legal action taken against
Social Affairs Feb. 28, 2024
-
As criticism mounts, med students engage in community service
As negative sentiment continues to build toward the medical sector after junior doctors walked out of hospitals and training programs in protest of the government’s decision to increase the annual medical school enrollment quota, medical students said they would engage in community service while taking time off from their studies. An emergency response committee at Yonsei University College of Medicine on Monday kicked off volunteering activities to provide free meals for the elderly, dist
Social Affairs Feb. 27, 2024
-
[From the Scene] 12 hours to get ER treatment -- it could get worse
Kim, a mother in her 30s, arrived at Seoul National University Hospital’s emergency room on 5 a.m., Friday, after her preschool son’s temperature surged at midnight and he was losing energy. But she was not able to meet a doctor until 3 p.m., after almost 12 hours waiting on a bench outside of the ER with her crying son. “(My son) wasn’t feeling well last night. His temperature went too high, his face got red and he was sweating for days, so ... (I had to come here),&rdqu
Social Affairs Feb. 26, 2024
-
Health care crisis hits highest level amid doctor walkout
The South Korean government said it has elevated the health care crisis level to the highest position, as of Friday at 8 a.m., in response to the collective walkout of junior doctors as they show little signs of returning. The highest level of seriousness in the four-tier warning system had previously been issued during the COVID-19 pandemic over a spike in confirmed cases, but this is the first time the government has lifted the gauge to seriousness regarding health care. In an effort to minimi
Social Affairs Feb. 23, 2024
-
Key doctors’ group to hold mass protest on March 3
The major lobby group for doctors said Thursday that it would stage a massive rally in Seoul with all of its members from across the county on March 3 to protest the government’s move to significantly increase the number of seats at medical schools. The demonstration, initially set for March 10, was moved up at the doctors’ urging, according to the Korean Medical Association, the largest group of doctors here with some 140,000 members. As the two sides continue to lock horns over the
Social Affairs Feb. 22, 2024
Most Popular
-
1
Korea enters full election mode
-
2
Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
-
3
Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
-
4
Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
-
5
Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
-
6
Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
-
7
S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
-
8
Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
-
9
Kia EV9 wins world car of year
-
10
Korea misses out on global bond index boost