Patient group urges trainee doctors to ‘return voluntarily and unconditionally’

Trainee doctors presented three new demands to the government, but the Korea Alliance of Patients Organization called for their “unconditional return.” The group plans to hold a one-person relay protest to demand measures to prevent the recurrence of collective action by the medical community.

On Monday, the patient organization said it “does not agree” with the three demands presented by the emergency committee of the Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA) at an extraordinary general meeting.

The new demands from KIRA included establishing a task force composed of field experts to review the essential medical care policy package of the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration, improving the training environment for resident physicians, and guaranteeing training continuity; launching a consultative body to alleviate legal burdens related to medical accidents.

The alliance will begin a relayed one-person protest on Tuesday in front of the National Assembly, demanding discussions for “three Laws for relieving medical service void and preventing recurrence” and introducing the “Act to Prevent Essential Medical Services Gap.”

The three laws for compensating victims of medical service gaps and preventing their recurrence are the “Patient Basic Act,” the “Special Act on Compensation for Victims of Medical Crises,” and the “Act on Mandatory Investigation of Patient Harm in Medical Crises” (amendment to the Basic Act on Health and Medical Care).

“The demands of trainee physicians could be interpreted as denying the governance structure itself, which involves the participation of various stakeholders, including patient groups, consumer groups, and civil society organizations, in the decision-making process for medical policies,” the alliance said, criticizing KIRA’s demands.

Regarding the establishment of a discussion body to alleviate legal burdens related to medical accidents, it said, “We have already formed two related consultative bodies and conducted social discussions. Demanding the establishment of another discussion body is a disregard for the social discussion process conducted so far to secure a safety net for medical accidents.”

“It is more necessary to establish a discussion body to support victims of medical accidents and their families who are suffering from resentment, high litigation costs, and difficulties in proving their cases,” the alliance added.

Regarding the improvement of the training environment for resident doctors, it stated, “Residents and interns left the medical field voluntarily, and their return should also be voluntary without any conditions.”

“If the new government pushes ahead with policies to establish public medical schools and regional medical schools, we can expect collective actions by medical residents to resurface, similar to those in 2000 and 2024,” it said. “To prepare for another medical crisis, the National Assembly must swiftly review and pass the ‘Three Laws on Compensation for Medical Staffing Shortages and Prevention of Recurrence’ and promptly introduce the ‘Essential Medical Services Shortage Prevention Act.’”

Regardless of whether trainee doctors return to work, the government and National Assembly must swiftly establish institutional and legislative measures to protect future patients from potential collective actions by the medical community, the alliance emphasized.