(From L to R) Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong, Education Minister Lee Ju-ho, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Han Dong-hoon, leader of the ruling People Power Party, attend the first meeting of a consultative body with the government and doctors’ groups at the National Assembly in Seoul on Nov. 11, 2024, to discuss ways to resolve trainee doctors’ walkout. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — A consultative body involving the ruling People Power Party (PPP), the government and doctors’ groups was launched on Monday to seek to resolve a prolonged walkout by trainee doctors, with the aim of producing “meaningful” results by late December, a PPP lawmaker said.
Thousands of trainee doctors have left their workplaces in a mass resignation since February to protest the government’s decision to sharply raise the medical school quota, causing major disruptions to the national health care service.
During the first meeting, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, and representatives from an association of medical school deans and Korean Academy of Medical Sciences discussed measures to help trainee doctors to return to hospitals.
“The consultative body is set to operate until the end of December, but we aim to produce meaningful outcomes by December 22 or 23 to deliver a Christmas gift to the public,” Rep. Kim Sung-won of the PPP told reporters.
The participants also called on junior doctors and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) to join the body to mull solutions to the prolonged doctors’ walkout.
“The decisions made within the consultative body will guide government policy,” Han said, calling for the DP to join the talks.
The prime minister said health care reform encompasses more than increasing the medical school quota, pledging to address trainee doctors’ requests for better working conditions and fair compensation.
(Yonhap)
