Professors at the University of Ulsan College of Medicine, including those at Asan Medical Center (AMC) in Seoul, have agreed to submit their resignations in protest against the government's decision to suspend the licenses of resigned interns and residents.

The emergency committee of the University of Ulsan College of Medicine Faculty Council decided so at a meeting held at Asan Medical Center on Thursday, attended by 254 professors from three training hospitals -- Asan Medical Center, Ulsan University Hospital, and Gangneung Asan Hospital -- the council said. Faculty members from Ulsan University Hospital and Gangneung Asan Hospital participated remotely.

According to the council, all medical college faculty members will submit their resignations to each hospital's emergency committee. The process and schedule will be announced at a later date.

"We will continue to do our best to treat patients until the end," the emergency committee said. “However, a gradual reduction in services will be inevitable to preserve high-demand inpatient services, such as emergency and intensive care units."

The committee also considered filing a complaint with the International Labor Organization (ILO) about the government's judicial action against physicians but later decided to drop it. The council of trainee doctors has already completed preparations to do so.

Besides, the committee decided to recommend that the hospital secure replacement staff and reduce treatment to prevent burnout among the remaining medical staff and the risk of staff desertion. It also plans to join forces with faculty organizations of the Big Five hospitals to create safe conditions for the return of trainee doctors and specialists.

"All three training hospitals are doing their best to treat patients in a situation where it is inevitable to reduce treatment functions," the emergency committee said. “The medical staff in the emergency room, high-risk maternity delivery, and leukemia wards, which are the most serious conditions at Asan Medical Center, are already burned out and showing signs of manpower exodus."

The ongoing turmoil has made us realize that the high-intensity work environment for junior doctors and specialists with worker status must be improved, it said. We have decided to push for legal amendments and system improvements in the long term.

"To prepare for a prolonged crisis, we have decided to focus on informing the public about the crisis in training hospitals and letting them know that if the training function of the three training hospitals collapses, it will be difficult to restore Korea's essential medical care," it added.