The government blamed resigned trainee doctors for the current difficulties facing the healthcare system, noting that there were also forces that encouraged the mass resignations.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said so in response to questions from Rep. Chung Eul-young of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) during a policy interpellation session on healthcare and pension reform at the National Assembly's special committee on budget and settlement on Wednesday.

Rep. Chung pointed out that the push to increase the medical school enrollment quota by 2,000 has led to the collapse of the healthcare system.

“I don't think (the healthcare system) has collapsed, but it is struggling, indeed,” Han said. “It all started when nearly 10,000 trainee doctors left patients.”

Rep. Chung pointed out that the reason why doctors left the medical field was because “the government raided them like waging a combat for opposing the government policy.”

However, Han retorted, saying, “We didn’t raid them for dissenting.”

Han said that the resignations of trainee doctors and class boycotts by medical students were not voluntary. “Junior doctors and medical students appeared to try to think and decide (to resign and take a leave of absence) individually. However, there seemed to be people who prevented them from doing so, which is difficult to accept from the aspect of liberal and democratic social order.”

The opposition lawmaker asked about the need for the government to retreat and revise its policy, considering the vast sacrifice suffered by the people due to its conflict with the medical community by pushing to increase the number of medical students by 2,000. However, Han said, “That's why the government made a huge concession.”

Chung told Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyoo-hong that “the medical system has collapsed.” Still, Minister Cho refuted it, saying, “It's too much to say that the healthcare system has crumbled.”

“There are difficulties (in providing emergency medical care), but it is possible to maintain the system,” Cho said. “Some of the claims are far from objective statistics, and so the government has announced the numbers of emergency room beds, specialists, and patients since Monday,” Cho said.

Cho continued, “This is not to say there are no problems. However, since each hospital and each region have different circumstances, we are attaching dedicated officers to hospitals with problems, closely monitoring them, and providing support.”

However, Rep. Chung said, “You shouldn't just tinker with military doctors but replenish the medical workforce. The return rate of junior doctors is also low. The medical system will collapse.”

In response, Minister Cho repeatedly said, “Collapse of the medical system is too strong an expression.”

Rep. Chung told Minister Cho that “Health minister should take responsibility (for the collapse of the medical system),” and the latter replied, “I am working with the determination to take responsibility.”