Articles by Park Jun-hee
Park Jun-hee
junheee@heraldcorp.com-
Yoon calls for dialogue, trust from medical community
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday urged the medical community to engage in dialogue and to trust the government, rather than refusing to bend on plans to increase the annual medical school enrollment quota. The president made the remarks during his visit to the pediatric ward of the Asan Medical Center earlier in the day. There, he met with hospital officials, including Park Seung-il, the head of the hospital and Lee Je-hwan, the vice director of medical services, to encourage medical workers wh
Politics March 18, 2024
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Private physicians mull reducing night service, weekend openings
Private practitioners nationwide are mulling whether to reduce night services and weekend openings in protest against the government’s medical reform policies. Kim Dong-seok, an obstetrician who heads the Korean Medical Practitioners Association, a group representing private physicians, said during a spring medical academic conference Sunday afternoon that private medical practices are considering taking action to support junior doctors and medical professors’ walkout by shortening t
Social Affairs March 18, 2024
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Med professors to resign starting March 25
South Korea’s healthcare system faces yet another challenge as medical professors announce they will submit their resignations autonomously starting March 25, ending their involvement in patient care and surgical procedures. The medical professors, often juggling dual roles as physicians in hospitals, have filled the void left by trainee doctors to mitigate disruptions in medical services following a month-long period of junior doctors’ walkout in protest of the government’s ex
Social Affairs March 17, 2024
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Patients, families on edge as more doctors consider resigning
Oh Myung-jin, 44, who has to care for two critically ill family members, blew a fuse after hearing the news of medical professors considering leaving their hospitals too, joining junior doctors in their protest against the government increasing the medical school student quota. “If professors also walk out, (patients) won’t be able to get the same treatment starting this month or even next week. (My daughter and father) including myself are living in constant fear,” she told Th
Social Affairs March 14, 2024
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[인터뷰] 세계의사협회 회장 “의대 증원, 필수-지역 의료 해결 못해.. 한국 의대들 준비 안돼”
[코리아헤럴드=박준희기자] 세계의사협회 루자인 알코드마니(Lujain Al-Qodmani) 회장은 최근 본지와의 서면 인터뷰에서 한국 정부의 일방적인 의대 증원 결정이 특정 분야 의사 부족 현상과 지역의료를 살리는 해결책이 아니라며 오히려 정원 확대 정책은 미래 의사의 역량을 하락시킬 수 있다고 우려했다. 이어 알코드마니 회장은 “연간 60%가 넘는 증원 규모는 대한의사협회와 같은 이해당사자들의 협상을 거치지 않은 채 증원됐다”며 이는 한국 의료계에 "적신호"를 보내고 있다고 말했다. 또한, 의대 증원이 "명확한 근거 없이 일방적으로 결정됐다"고 진단했다. 한국 정부의 결정은 “의학 교육과 의료 서비스 제공을 간과했다”면서, 이는 예기치 않은 결과를 초래할 위험이 있다며 우려를 표명 했다. “(의대 증원만으로는) 소아청소년과, 외과 같은 필수의료 분야와 지역의료를 효과적으로 해결하기 어렵다&rd
한국어판 March 12, 2024
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Health care standoff worsens as professors threaten to leave hospitals
Further uncertainty is hovering over South Korea’s critical care system, as medical professors, who have been filling the vacuum left by junior doctors walking out, warned they too could walk out in protest against the government’s expansion plan. The Medical Professors Association of Korea -- a coalition of professors from 33 medical schools -- issued a statement Tuesday that the group would take collective action “if any damage is inflicted” on trainee doctors or medica
Social Affairs March 12, 2024
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[Herald Interview] Med school expansion won’t solve health care shortage: WMA president
The South Korean government’s decision to add 2,000 new spots in medical school admissions is not a solution to alleviate the immediate needs of medically underserved or specialty areas, according to Dr. Lujain Al-Qodmani, the president of the World Medical Association. In an exclusive written interview with The Korea Herald, the WMA head said the government’s decision overlooked the complexities of medical education and health care delivery and risks unintended consequences. Al-Qodm
Social Affairs March 12, 2024
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Govt. to set up reporting center to ensure trainee doctors’ safe return to hospitals
The South Korean government said Friday it would set up a reporting center within the Ministry of Health and Welfare dedicated to ensuring trainee doctors’ safe return to hospitals as their protest against the expansion plan entered its third week. The center aims to prevent the direct and indirect harm that junior doctors who wish to return to their positions may suffer, as an list of returning doctors was posted online recently. Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo said during Friday
Social Affairs March 8, 2024
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Medical professors quit in droves over expansion plan
Medical professors are quitting in droves in a show of protest against the Korean government’s planned hike in the medical school enrollment quota, as they join trainee doctors in taking collective action. The dean’s group at Kyungpook National University School of Medicine issued a statement late Thursday that they would resign collectively “to take full responsibility for the situation,” according to the Daegu Medical Association on Friday. “We’ve openly exp
Social Affairs March 8, 2024
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S. Korea to inject W188b to fill in medical void amid doctors’ protest
The South Korean government announced Thursday that it would spend 188.2 billion won ($141 million) from the state health insurance fund for a month to address the medical care gap left by trainee doctors’ collective walkouts that started three weeks ago. The provision of the funds will start Monday, and the same amount will be spent in the following month if the medical crisis continues. Jun Byung-wang, a policy chief at the Health Ministry, said during Thursday’s briefing that the
Social Affairs March 7, 2024
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Professors sue health ministry over med school expansion plan
Faculty councils of 33 medical schools filed for an injunction Tuesday against the planned hike in medical school enrollment quotas, along with an administrative lawsuit against the Health Ministry, reports said the same day, citing education and health authorities. This comes after 40 medical schools nationwide have collectively requested an increase in the annual student quota by 3,401 in a government survey. The professors say the schools made their decisions without heeding their opinions. M
Social Affairs March 6, 2024
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Med schools demand over 3,400 new student seats despite protests
South Korea’s 40 medical schools have collectively requested an increase in the annual student quota by 3,401 starting in 2025, defying doctors’ calls to resist the government’s plan to expand the quota by 2,000 a year. The figure, 1.7 times higher than the planned increase of 2,000 students, is expected to bolster the government’s quota expansion push, which has been encountering strong opposition from doctors, medical students and professors who walked out of hospitals
Social Affairs March 5, 2024
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Seoul starts to suspend license of 7,000 unreturned doctors
The South Korean government on Monday started taking legal steps against some 7,000 trainee doctors who refused to return to work by moving to suspend their licenses for at least three months. Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo said during Monday’s briefing that those who defy the government’s return-to-work orders would be notified of their license suspension on Tuesday. Health authorities have begun on-site investigations at 50 training hospitals to determine the exact number
Social Affairs March 4, 2024
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[From the Scene] Day of Rage: Doctors resist pressure to bend
Expressing frustration and anger at the South Korean government’s recent decision to increase the annual medical school quota by 2,000 starting in 2025, tens of thousands of doctors, interns, residents and medical students walked the picket line Sunday afternoon to urge a reversal of the planned hike. Chants of “Let’s fight together, let’s win together” reverberated through the crowd, reflecting determination even as the government has issued repeated warnings that
Social Affairs March 3, 2024
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[KH Explains] Why doctors refuse to bend despite lack of public support
The recent mass walkout by junior doctors has led to unprecedented disruptions in South Korea’s otherwise well-regarded medical system. Both the government and doctors’ groups have refused to bend over plans to increase the number of places at medical schools. Both sides amped up their publicity efforts rather than actively seeking a compromise, as the government’s Thursday deadline for junior doctors to return to work loomed. The government has reiterated the need for medica
Social Affairs Feb. 29, 2024
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