Govt. weighing measures to deal with trainee doctors who refuse to return to hospitals

The government has been weighing measures on how to deal with trainee doctors who refuse to return to hospitals in protest of medical reform, according to officials Friday.

With most trainee doctors still remaining unresponsive to the government's appeasement measures to help them return to hospitals, officials said the government will soon come up with measures on how to respond to the junior doctors who have left their worksites since late February.

Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong earlier pledged to introduce such measures in early July, as hospitals need to prepare for the recruitment of new junior doctors who will begin training in September.

As of Wednesday, 1,086 junior doctors, or about 8 percent of 13,756 trainee doctors, were on duty at the 211 training hospitals, according to government data.

Trainee doctors have been on strike for nearly five months in protest against a hike in medical student admissions, the first such increase in 27 years, which was finalized in May.

The government initially instructed hospitals not to accept trainee doctors' resignations to prevent them from seeking other jobs but reversed this order in late June to normalize operations.

As the protracted walkout by trainee doctors has shown little signs of ending, medical professors, who also serve as senior doctors at general hospitals, began staging walkouts and other forms of protest.

Asan Medical Center, one of the five largest hospitals in Seoul, began reducing patient care Thursday, claiming that this measure aims to focus on treating critically ill patients amid the ongoing medical vacuum.

Doctors at Severance Hospital, Gangnam Severance Hospital and Yongin Severance Hospital have suspended the treatment of outpatients, nonemergency surgeries and other services since late last month.

Medical professors at Korea University and Chungbuk National University have vowed to launch walkouts starting July 12 and 26, respectively. (Yonhap)