Procedures to put in availability over 4,900 specialist doctors who left their posts in protest at the medical education reform, and participated in mobilization that caused chaos in the Asian country’s hospitals, announced today that the South Korean government is moving

About 12,000 specialist doctors, in other words 93% of the total, were absent from hospitals, defying government orders to return to their posts.

The wave of resignations and resignations, which began on February 20, has caused many treatments and surgeries to be postponed as South Korea’s hospital system relies heavily on interns, forcing the government to mobilize military doctors.

The Ministry of Health announced today that it has started sending administrative notices to the strikers, the first step for the suspension of professional licenses for three months.

“On (Friday) March 8, over 4,900 specialist doctors were sent,” said senior health ministry official Chon Byeong-wang.

He explained that the three-month suspension entails postponing for at least one year the acquisition by each interested specialist of the license to practice the profession of a specialized doctor.

He promised that doctors who return immediately to their posts will not be punished.

Essential workers

“The government will take into account the circumstances and protect medical specialists if they return to work before the end of the administrative process,” he told the press.

Under South Korean law, doctors are essential workers who cannot strike.

The government had given protesters until February 29 to return to their seats and ordered a police investigation into the rally. Police raided the headquarters of the Korea Medical Association, the collective body that played a leading role in organizing the protest, in early March.

The strikers are protesting against a plan to increase the number of medical school admissions by 65% ​​from next year, to around 2,000 a year. A measure that the government describes as absolutely necessary to address the shortage of medical personnel and the aging population of South Korea.

Doctors, for their part, strongly oppose this measure, considering that the admission of more students to medical schools will lead to a drop in the level of future professionals and the quality of care.

Reform advocates charge against them that what they are really worried about is the potential decrease in their income and social status if competition increases.

According to a recent poll by South Korea’s Gallup Institute, more than 75% of citizens polled are in favor of the reform, in a country where access to the health system is often difficult in the countryside.

“The government will not renounce the dialogue,” said Mr. Chon, the health ministry spokesman. “The government will respect and listen to the views of the medical community” on the reform, he assured.

Last week, the government announced measures aimed at improving the wages and working conditions of skilled workers, as well as reducing the continuous working period to a maximum of 36 hours, one of the main reasons for their discontent.