ISTANBUL
\nHitting patient care, thousands of trainee medics Tuesday resigned from duty in South Korea to protest the government\u2019s move to increase the number of medical student seats.
\nHowever, President Yoon Suk Yeol called on the protesting doctors to \u201cnot hold people\u2019s lives and health hostage.\u201d
\nSome 6,415 trainee doctors at 100 hospitals have submitted their resignations while around 1,600 of them suspended their work, the Seoul-based Yonhap News reported.
\nSouth Korea has some 13,000 trainee doctors in South Korea while the government ordered 831 trainee doctors to return to work.
\n\u201cTrainee doctors who are key players in the medical field and medical school students who are key players in future medicine should not take collective action by taking the people\u2019s lives and health hostage,\u201d said the president.
\nYoon said some \u201csurgeries for cancer patients have already been postponed\u201d due to the strike.
\nThe country\u2019s Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo Park said the resignations by doctors \u201cled to a disruption in medical services, such as the cancellation of surgeries.\u201d
\nProtesting doctors claim that the government \u201clacks transparency\u201d and that the move to increase the number of medical students will \u201ccompromise\u201d the quality of medical education and services.
\nThe government, however, said the increase of 2,000 seats is \u201cnecessary\u201d to address a shortage of doctors, especially in rural areas and crucial specialties.
\nCurrently, South Korea\u2019s annual enrollment for medical seats is 3,058 seats. Last Friday, the country\u2019s Health Ministry banned large-scale resignations and issued action against doctors\u2019 collective resignations.
\nAlso, to manage the patient rush due to the fallout from resignations, government-run hospitals in Seoul decided to extend normal operating hours.
\n South Korea\u2019s healthcare system heavily relies on trainee doctors, especially in emergency and acute care. To meet the needs of patients, the government extended normal working hours at the hospitals in Seoul.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISTANBUL Hitting patient care, thousands of trainee medics Tuesday resigned from duty in South Korea to protest the government\u2019s move to increase the number of medical student seats. However, President Yoon Suk Yeol called on the protesting doctors to \u201cnot hold people\u2019s lives and health hostage.\u201d Some 6,415 trainee doctors at 100 hospitals have submitted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":388487,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-388478","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n