There is a store in an apartment complex. A passerby is looking at a new product when the owner comes out and says, “If you steal this, I'll call the police.” The customer is understandably offended. When the customer asks why the store owner is scaring him, the owner responds, “I'm just telling you what the law says.” As others gather, the owner adds, “This guy has a strange look in his eyes. It looks like he's trying to steal something.”

The current confrontation between the government and the medical community is similar to the interaction between the customer and the owner.

On Feb. 6, the government announced the expansion of the medical school enrollment quota. I was embarrassed by the announcement’s timing just before the Lunar New Year holidays. It seemed strategically chosen by the Ministry of Health and Welfare before the April general election and holidays.

I thought it would be difficult for the medical community to gather opinions because of the holidays. Just as I was feeling helpless once again like this, the Health and Welfare Ministry announced that the maximum penalty for violating the collective resignation order and the order to start work is up to three years in prison and the maximum penalty for causing deaths due to paralyzed hospital functions.

At the same time, doctors began to be demonized as selfish money-chasers who don’t care about patients. It was unnecessary and I didn't understand why. Paradoxically, that's when doctors started to gather in earnest.

Medical professors were angered by the government’s repressive remarks of the trainee doctors. It’s as if they said, “Who is treating my child like a thief?” I've never seen a full faculty meeting so full. I've never seen professors united like this on a national level. I think there is an injustice in the government's policy, but there is also an emotion that cannot be explained by that alone -- anger that my child has been falsely accused.

I am not an expert on medical school enrollment quota. When I was in charge of training medical students, I was surprised to find fewer admissions than when I entered. I didn't quite understand why.

Having never studied healthcare policy, it's inappropriate for me to comment on the number of doctors. However, from what I've heard from healthcare policy experts in the medical community, data indicate both a shortage and a surplus of doctors. Numerous opinions are still exchanged about whether the nation should increase or reduce doctors or freeze their number. Regarding increased quota, there are many different opinions on its number.

In February when the announcement was made to increase the number of medical school students, public opinion favored the government. Concerns about problems with policy decisions or the future were dismissed as the selfishness of the medical community.

However, the atmosphere gradually changed toward “the medical community has its reasons.” The political community and the public are now tilting their heads, asking whether the policy decisions were justified and the conclusions were correct. The government, which pushed hard, has fallen into self-contradiction with poor logic.

Now it's gotten so far off track that it's become a distraction. Instead of the number of medical students, the main issue is the mass resignation of trainee doctors and the healthcare vacuum. It's like having a sudden car accident, but instead of looking at its cause, the discussion has shifted to “whether the brake lights came on.” It's like trying to determine whether a patient is real by arguing whether he went to a hospital instead of looking for the cause of food poisoning.

The government's announcement on Aug. 8 has been met with mixed reviews. Aside from its interpretation, the announcement showed signs of consideration compared to previous ones. Some of the recommendations made by the medical community to solve the problems of trainee doctors have been reflected.

After the policy announcement, instead of the habitual doctor-bashing and disparaging remarks, the government has begun expressing gratitude to the medical community for their hard work. However, how acceptable is this, especially from the aspect of the “relationship,” in addition to the problems that may arise in the implementation process?

Let's go back to the first story. The store owner realized that his sales had suddenly dropped, and started offering buy one get one free, double points, and other promotions. But will people want to buy from the store again? Will they want to buy from someone who misunderstood them?

Moreover, if they seriously inquire about a new product and are told, “You don't understand, we just made it better,” will they be willing to buy it? This will only increase their suspicion of the store's products. The customer-owner relationship has already been broken, and it's reached the point where no product or event can be trusted. This is the relationship between the medical community and the government. More importantly, the customer didn't create this situation.

In the end, the medical community has no choice but to work within the framework of the government, and the government has no choice but to work with the medical community.

The goal is the same: it is good for the apartment residents to use the store, and for the merchant to make sales. The only way to restore broken relationships is to recognize each other sincerely and communicate frequently. Neither side can solve the problem forever with “I have an answer and you must follow it.” Especially not by creating the illusion of controlling the outcome to make it look like it's solved rather than addressing the cause. It's like peeing on your frozen feet. You can't fix the cause by tweaking the effect.

I also don’t favor just throwing good things at the problem. I am worried that the recent announcement about trainee doctors is not based on improving the quality of education and sober evaluation, but is a showcase policy that lists only good things. Instead of “we'll do this, we'll do that,” it sounds like “if you don't do this or that, you'll be penalized.” I'm also worried that it will become a “rooftop” policy that shifts the load to hospitals and professors.

The seemingly never-ending Covid-19 crisis ended as if nothing happened. So many people worked so hard. I hope that the medical school enrollment quota and trainee doctor issues will also be resolved through the efforts of many people. To do so, we need to restore “human relations.” Above all, I hope that the mindset of the shopkeepers will change first.