Only 62 Residents Return Despite Ultimatum…More Than 10,000 Resignations

During the eight-day deadline set by the government for residents to resign, only 62 residents actually returned to their jobs. Accordingly, it is expected that more than 12,000 residents will resign as per the government policy and recruitment for vacancies in the second half of the year will proceed.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the 17th, as of the previous day, the 16th, the attendance rate of specialists (interns and residents) at 211 training hospitals was 8.4%. This is 1,157 out of 13,756 people. Based on the residents belonging to specialized departments in each training hospital, 1,047 out of 15,006 people went to work, showing a return rate of 10.0%.

Compared to June 3rd (1,013 people), the day before the government withdrew various administrative orders targeting residents, 114 people returned. After the government’s ‘ultimatum’ on the 8th of this month, which provided a deadline for residents to resign (15 days), 62 people returned.

Starting the day before, the 15th, each training hospital began to process resignations from its residents. According to the tally on the 16th, 1,302 out of 15,060 residents from 211 training hospitals, or 12.4%, resigned. Compared to the 86 who resigned before the government’s deadline (counted as of the 15th), this is an increase of 1,216 in one day. Residents from the ‘Big 5 Hospitals’, which are major large hospitals, also resigned on the 15th, accounting for 38.1% of the total 1,992.

Accordingly, each training hospital will automatically process the mass resignation of approximately 10,000 residents, excluding those who returned to work and those who resigned, in accordance with the government’s policy. In fact, Seoul National University Hospital sent a resignation agreement to residents who did not respond the day before, with the resignation date set for the end of February. In addition, Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, Boramae Hospital, and Bundang Cha Hospital are also pursuing the same procedure.

However, some hospitals are struggling with the retirement date, etc., but it is inevitable to process resignation letters due to the schedule for recruiting residents in the second half of this year. This is because each training hospital must confirm the number of vacancies and apply for the recruitment of ‘2024 second-half residents’ to the Training Environment Evaluation Committee Secretariat by that date. Once the number of resignations is confirmed, the government plans to start recruiting residents in the second half of the year on the 22nd and persuade residents who have not returned to apply as much as possible.

Letter from Seoul National University Hospital Internal Medicine Resident… “We will not respond to the unilateral resignation”

Meanwhile, the day before the deadline for residents to resign, Seoul National University Hospital internal medicine residents also expressed their position through an internal email. In an email titled “Letter to Internal Medicine Professors,” they stated, “Even if the government and hospital force us to resign, we have decided not to return to the hospital without a change in the government’s forward-looking stance,” and “We will maintain a non-response to unilateral resignations after June.”

They claimed, “Just as the government’s misdeeds are wrong, we also know that some of our actions are not justified, but the ongoing resignations after June and fall turn recruitment (recruitment of residents in the second half of the year) are merely stopgap measures to divide residents and prevent a collapse of the medical system, and to return to the old and sick medical system of the past.”

He continued, “In a situation where many are saying that they will hold the residents legally responsible for the losses that occurred during their absence from February to June, processing the resignation letters from February until June is no different from a first-time threat telling them to come back if they don’t want to take legal responsibility.” He also said, “Recruiting for fall rotation is no different from a second-time threat telling the current residents to come back if they don’t want to lose their positions.”