A top government official recently said that professors at even private medical schools, let alone national ones, are subject to the National Civil Service Act, raising the possibility that the ongoing conflict between the government and the political community could turn into legal disputes.

"Vice Minister of Health and Welfare was not entirely wrong when he made the remark,” a legal expert said in a telephone interview with Korea Biomedical Review on Tuesday. “Medical professors are special and cannot be viewed as ordinary workers. Legal interpretations can differ, depending on how specially one accepts the current situation.”.

The expert said that if there is a legal dispute between the government and the medical community, the issue is how to turn the legal interpretation into an argument. If the government raises the issue with the logic (mentioned by Vice Minister Park), the court will also have to consider it, the expert noted while requesting anonymity, citing the situation's sensitivity.

"I don't know how this case will end, but it is necessary to get the court's judgment because the conflict may be repeated in the future,” he added.

He also talked about the problems that could arise if the hospital refuses to accept professors' resignations.

"Legally, there is no problem if they (university hospitals) don't accept resignations," he said. "If you submit a resignation and it is not accepted, you are still working. From the employer's perspective, it is correct to discipline a person who does not fulfill his or her obligation to provide labor while the contract is still in place."

The labor contract itself is a form of mutual confirmation of the terms and conclusion of the contract, so even if one party violates it, the contract does not disappear by itself, he said. However, the hospital should present a concrete plan to take action if the professors (who submitted their resignations) do not return by a certain date. He added that the hospitals have yet to do so, so they are stuck at a standstill.

Despite the ongoing confrontation between the government and the medical community, the expert noted that no clear legal solution is in sight.

"There is no way to streamline the current chaos legally," he said. “It has become an even more sensitive issue because trainee doctors are both workers and trainees, and the Special Act on Medical Residents recognizes their special status," he said. "If the government imposes a license suspension on trainee doctors, it can be argued that the suspension itself is a disqualifying reason and automatically terminates the contract even if the resignation is not accepted."

On Monday, Vice Minister Park said, “There is a controversy over applying (the provisions of the Civil Code) to medical professors as it is, as professors at national universities are state employees and professors at private universities are also subject to the National Civil Service Act."

The Civil Code allows a resignation letter to take effect one month after submission, even if it is not accepted. However, it is difficult to apply the Civil Code to public and private medical school professors because they are public servants, according to Park’s reasoning.

Article 660 of the Civil Code states that "when there is no contract of employment, a party may give notice of termination at any time, and the other party shall be entitled to terminate the contract after one month has elapsed from the date of receipt of the notice." However, the government thinks this provision cannot be applied to public and private medical school professors because they are subject to the National Civil Service Act. This special law precedes the Civil Service Act.

According to the National Civil Service Act, which Vice Minister Park referred to, public servants are obligated to perform their duties in good faith and compliance with laws and regulations and to obey the professional orders of their superiors when performing their duties. In particular, there is a prohibition against leaving the workplace without the permission of their supervisor or a legitimate reason, and there is also a prohibition against collective action, which means that they must not engage in collective action for labor movements or other non-public duties.

The Private School Act states that the qualifications of private school teachers are governed by the regulations on the qualifications of teachers in national schools and public schools, so they are also subject to the National Civil Service Act.

These provisions mean that, as Vice Minister Park noted, professors at public and private medical schools are subject to the National Civil Service Act, which prohibits them from resigning even one month after submitting their resignation letters and collective action. The government considers even individual resignations and collective actions if premeditated in advance.

Meanwhile, professors have been reducing their office hours in response to expanding medical school capacity. Seoul National University Hospital is also expected to suspend both surgery and medical treatment one day a week.

The Emergency Committee of the Seoul National University College of Medicine and Seoul National University Hospital Faculty Council announced that it would hold a general meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday to discuss a proposal to suspend outpatient treatment and surgery on one day a week.

The committee decided to discuss a one-day leave of absence in light of the fact that frontline professors' work fatigue has exceeded the limits. The medical gap has been extended for more than two months due to the resignation of trainee doctors.

Faced with many medical professors leaving the hospital after submitting their resignation letters a month ago, the government has said that submitting a resignation letter does not automatically take effect. Still, an increasing number of medical professors are quietly preparing to resign.

Medical school professors who have been complaining of burnout from on-call and outpatient work for more than two months following the resignation of trainee doctors have been gradually reducing their outpatient and inpatient work. Many are not accepting new patient appointments.

On the other hand, some professors are choosing to stay in clinical practice and continue to treat patients instead of giving up their teaching positions.

Professor Choi Chang-min of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Asan Medical Center wrote on his social media page, "I was skeptical about whether I should continue to teach. I don't think it is right to keep doing what I've been doing. I think it's time to reflect on the time I've spent. I thought about giving up teaching and going into clinical practice to see patients."