The South Korean government yesterday warned thousands of striking doctors to return to work immediately or face legal action after their collective walkouts caused cancelations of surgeries and disrupted other hospital operations.
More than 8,800 junior doctors — 71 percent of the trainee workforce — have quit, said Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo, part of a spiraling protest against government plans to sharply increase medical school admissions.
Officials say they want to increase the nationwide medical school admissions cap by 2,000 from next year to brace for South Korea’s rapidly aging population, but doctors’ groups say the changes would hurt service provision and education quality.
Photo: Reuters
The South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare said that authorities have received 58 public complaints over the walkouts, mostly regarding indefinite delays of surgeries and cancelations of other medical treatments.
Park said that 7,813 trainee doctors had not shown up for work — an almost fivefold increase from the first day of the action on Monday — despite the government ordering many of them to return to their hospitals.
“A collective action holding the lives and safety of the people cannot be justified for whatever reason,” South Korean Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min told a news conference with other top officials.
Lee said the government issued an official order for striking doctors to return to work, adding that it would sternly deal with the doctors’ walkouts in line with the medical law and other regulations.
South Korea’s medical law allows the government to issue such back-to-work orders to doctors and other medical personnel when there are grave concerns about public health. If they refuse to abide by the order, they could face up to three years in prison or 30 million won (US$22,488) in fines, a punishment that would also lead to the revocation of their medical licenses.
South Korea’s general hospitals rely heavily on trainees for emergency operations and surgeries, and local reports said cancer patients and expectant mothers needing caesarean sections had seen procedures canceled or delayed, with scores of cases causing “damage,” he said.
Hong Jae-ryun, a brain cancer patient in his 50s from Daegu, said that his chemotherapy had been postponed without clear future dates due to the current situation, even though the cancer has spread to his lungs and liver.
“It’s absurd. In the midst of the conflict between the government and doctors, what can powerless patients say? It feels like a betrayal,” Hong said. “When there is no one to trust and rely on other than doctors, it seems excessive to handle things in this manner.”
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
RSS