Military to send underperforming medics to 'unfavorable' spots

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Monday it has created a new clause in its personnel management regulation that will involve relocating medical officers evaluated to be neglectful or dismissive of patients to locations with relatively low preference.

The ministry said that the new measure was implemented in order to ensure that all of its medical officers -- with over 95 percent on their mandatory military service -- dutifully fulfill their jobs. The said clause was first introduced as a guideline in June 2014 and was formally implemented earlier this month.

According to the ministry, officers who were in the bottom 5 percent in terms of patient evaluation will all be forwarded to a relocation committee. They include officers deemed as neglectful in writing their medical charts, or have faced three or more complaints of rudeness.

A personnel official of the Defense Ministry said the new measure will preemptively prevent possible slacking of medical officers.

The new posts of such officers will be at places less favored by them, officials said.

But relocating the substandard officers to less-favored locations has sparked concerns about the well-being of soldiers already stationed there. The general outposts adjacent to the inter-Korea border are known to be least favored by most soldiers, while being the most likely places for injuries.

“The criteria for relocation is not based on the medical officers’ medical skills or competence, but is based on their attitude at work,” said a ministry personnel, emphasizing that the regulation would not necessarily mean that the underqualified officers will be dispatched to the frontlines.

He added that the officials will hold further reviews on implementing or revising the new clause.

There have been reports of substandard treatment by some of the military medical officers.

Medical officers outrank most of their patients, most of whom are enlisted soldiers.

In 2013, the military hospital diagnosed corporal Shin Sung-min with a simple headache. But his personal visit to a civilian hospital during his leave revealed a brain tumor that eventually killed him five months later.

The military reform team of the minority opposition Justice Party recently revealed a case in which  military officers overlooked the severe injury of two brothers, both of whom were servicemen at the time, and pressured them to return to their platoon, accusing them of feigning injury. The belated treatment resulted in the two getting complex regional pain syndrome, a form of chronic pain associated with the nervous system.

By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)