Junior doctors launch labor union on 1st day of resuming training after 18-month walkout

After an 18-month-long conflict with the government ended and returning to their training hospitals, medical residents established a labor union to reorganize their structure.

The junior doctors who formed the union stated they would unite to improve working conditions.

The Korean Intern Resident Union (KIRU) officially announced its launch on Monday, declaring itself a nationwide union capable of encompassing all training hospitals in the country. The day the union was declared established also marked the first day the returning residents resumed their training. The launching ceremony will be held at the Korean Medical Association (KMA) on Sept. 14.

In July 2006, the Korea Intern Resident Association (KIRA) established a union with approval from the Ministry of Labor, but it failed to sustain its existence and became a nominal organization. In July 2020, when the Moon Jae-in administration attempted to increase the medical school enrollment quota, the union resumed its activities and staged a strike.

The labor union, which is restarting after resolving the government-doctor conflict, emphasized compliance with the Labor Standards Act and the Medical Resident Act.

Even when laws are not being observed, trainee doctors find it difficult to even protest,” KIRU President Yoo Cheong-jun said. “Our union will work to ensure an environment that complies with the Labor Standards Act and the Medical Resident Act, guarantee the human rights of medical residents, and stand in solidarity with the socially vulnerable.”

The union's founding declaration also emphasized the guarantee of human rights for medical residents.

“Medical residents are not merely cheap labor,” it said. “The current training environment not only tramples on residents' human rights but also harbors structural contradictions that threaten patient safety. A medical system that fails to guarantee residents' human rights can never lead to proper healthcare. The justification for exploitation is over — residents must be treated as equal human beings.”

The union further declared, “We will fight to protect medical residents' legitimate rights and a humane life. For the sustainable development of healthcare in Korea, we will share responsibility with society and prioritize patient safety and public health above all else.”