NYT: ‘Government overtreats competition’ in response to doctors’ strike; Korean media: ‘Strong government response wins’
Regarding the doctors' strike, the New York Times reflected the doctors' argument that the cause of the doctor's strike was 'overtreatment by the government intensifying competition' and 'the shortage of doctors is limited to certain fields', while the Korean media sided with government officials and health and welfare professors and said 'the government is hard-line'. It was reported as a ‘responsive political party’ and a ‘herald of victory.’
Unlike the Korean media, the NYT said, “Doctors protesting say that increasing the number of doctors will lead to increased competition by the government, which risks overtreating patients,” and in the title <Korean doctors strike, protest promotion plan>, <Doctors want more doctors. They say the government's plan to enroll students in medical school ignores the real causes of the doctor shortage: poor conditions and low wages.> Under the subheading, the doctor's strike in Korea on the 19th was covered in Seoul.
On the 20th, hundreds of interns and residents in South Korea quit their jobs and began protesting the government's plan to address the doctor shortage by enrolling more medical students into medical schools.
NYT said of the strike, “Korea prides itself on its affordable health care system, but has the fewest doctors per capita in the developed world,” and said of the strike, “A rapidly aging population creates a desperate need for more doctors, especially in rural areas and in areas such as emergency medicine.” “I emphasize that this is the case,” he said, pointing out the shortage of doctors in the reality of the medical system.
In response to the strikers' claims, the NYT said, "Doctors in training are critical to keeping hospitals running, but they say the shortage is limited to specific specialties, such as emergency care, rather than the industry as a whole." “They say they ignore the issues that make working in the area unattractive: harsh working conditions and low wages for interns and residents.”
Park Dan, CEO of the Korea Intern Resident Association, who resigned from the emergency room at Severance Hospital, said, “The medical system has been collapsing for some time.” “I couldn’t see a future for myself, working in emergency medicine for the next five or 10 years. With the current setup of insurance and government payment systems, only doctors in certain specialties, such as plastic surgery, can make a decent living,” he told the NYT. .
Regarding the confrontation between the government and doctors, “Doctors protesting also say that if the government increases the number of doctors, there is a risk that it will intensify competition and lead to overtreatment of patients,” and “Earlier this month, the Yoon Seok-yeol government announced a plan to increase the number of medical school students by 65%. The NYT summarized, “Licensing for medical practice is regulated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.”
“The government’s plan was immediately criticized by doctors who took to the streets holding signs reading ‘End Healthcare,’” the NYT said of the dispute ahead of the strike.
In Korea, there is widespread support for increasing the number of medical school seats, which has remained fundamentally unchanged since 2006. The number of doctors per 1,000 people is about 2.6, while the average number of doctors in member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is 3.7.
NYT said, “According to a survey, doctors in training are working multiple shifts for more than 24 hours a week, and many doctors are working more than 80 hours a week,” and “Doctors in training at up to five hospitals in Seoul submitted their resignations on the 19th. He left his position at 6 a.m. on the 20th, and more than 6,000 doctors-in-training, more than half of the country's young doctors, resigned, but the Ministry of Health announced on the same day that 'the employer did not accept the resignation,'" he said, revealing the confrontational relationship.
South Korea's law allows the government to force some doctors to return to work over concerns about disruption to their practices, and government officials have announced they will rely on telemedicine operators and even military doctors until the issue is resolved. And the response to the workplace strike was applied as is.
President Yoon's plan is to significantly increase the number of medical school admissions from 3,000 to around 5,000 students per year.
The government stated that if the medical school entrance exam quota is not increased, ‘there will be a doctor shortage of about 10,000 fewer doctors than needed nationwide by 2035.’
‘Yonhap News’ reported on the 18th, in line with a ‘Health and Welfare’ professor, under the title, “Despite dramatic increase in medical school quota, no collective action by doctors abroad.”
‘Hankook Ilbo’ said in the title, ‘Lowest number of doctors relative to population…Why do Korean doctors oppose increasing the number of medical schools?’, “Foreign media outlets are focusing on high salaries as a reason why doctors are opposed to the number of medical schools in Korea, which has a shortage of doctors.” Doctor salaries are the highest among OECD countries. According to OECD statistics (2022), among Korean specialists, the wage income of salaried doctors and private practitioners was $195,463 (about 260 million won) and $303,000 (about 400 million won), respectively, the highest among OECD countries.” Reported on the 19th.
‘The Hankyoreh’ asked, ‘If a doctor turns off the phone and disappears, what is the effect of the work order? “It can be done by text message” > The title said, “The government is expected to file criminal charges for violating the medical law if they do not accept the resignation letters of medical residents and issue an order to start work. He said, ‘If residents do not return to work after receiving an order to begin work, illegality will inevitably be recognized, and if damage is caused to patients due to collective action by residents, the possibility of medical consumers filing a lawsuit demanding civil liability increases.’” ‘Government He announced a 'response victory'.
Regarding the reason for the government's hard-line response victory, the Hankyoreh said, “The Administrative Procedure Act, which serves as the basis for the delivery of business start orders, was revised in January 2022, requiring text messages to be sent when urgent disposal is required for public safety or welfare. “This is because new information has been added that ‘disposal can be made in a manner other than documents, such as fax or e-mail.’”
Yoon Seok-yeol's system is based on a 'health care system' led by government finances, 'privatization of medical care' and 'entry into the international biopharmaceutical market', and doctors are transferred to the subsidy system in the fund economic expansion and reorganization.