Medical workers' union calls for resigned trainee doctors to return immediately

The Korean Health and Medical Workers' Union (KHMU) has called for the return of resigned trainee doctors and emphasized the need for “proper healthcare reform,” which includes an increase in the medical school enrollment quota.

In a commentary on Thursday, the union noted that the medical void has become serious as the government-doctor conflict continues for more than a year.

“The overwhelming public opinion is in favor of expanding medical schools and healthcare reform because these are problems everyone in this country experiences,” it said.

It is difficult to re-promote failed reforms. Paradoxically, however, we could see how medical care collapses when there is a shortage of doctors through the government-doctor conflict of the past year, the union said, adding that the nation must end the medical vacancy as soon as possible and re-promote healthcare reform as the starting point for the great reform of Korean society.

The union also called on the National Assembly to promptly form the Medical Manpower Supply and Demand Estimation Committee and amend the law regarding the medical school enrollment quota for the 2026 academic year.

“Junior doctors should immediately return to the bedside of patients and normalize the prolonged medical turmoil,” it emphasized.

The healthcare union said that the “correct reform” to build a community-sufficient healthcare system, which is a social demand, must be properly promoted,” and demanded that the integrated healthcare and care system to prepare for an ultra-elderly society be further strengthened.”

The Korean Public Service and Transport Workers’ Union (KPTU)’s Healthcare Solidarity Headquarters also issued a statement on the same day.

“The solution to the medical crisis does not end with replacing the resigned trainee doctors,” it said. “We must change the market-oriented medical system to a public-centered medical system from the ground up.”

The headquarters called for expanding public hospitals, training public and regional doctors, replenishing the healthcare workforce, including nurses, and setting appropriate standards for healthcare personnel.