Only 5 pct of trainee doctors return to hospitals amid protracted walkout

SEOUL, May 21 (Yonhap) -- Only 5 percent of the trainee doctors who have left their worksites for three months have returned to hospitals, a senior official said Tuesday, although the government renewed its appeal for them to resolve the protracted standoff over medical reform through dialogue.

According to the health ministry, 659 junior doctors, or 5.1 percent of some 13,000 trainee doctors at 100 major training hospitals, had returned to work as of Monday.

The trainee doctors have remained off the job since late February in protest of the government's plan to increase the medical school admission quota. Last week, a Seoul appellate court rejected an injunction filed by the medical community to block the government's plan, paving the way for authorities to proceed with the reform.

Second Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo told reporters that the court's ruling "finished" the plan to hike the number of medical students, and he renewed the calls for trainee doctors to return to work.

"I once again call for the medical community to stop its collective action and engage in constructive dialogue," Park said.

Officials have warned that junior doctors may face a one-year delay in getting medical fellowships because they will not be eligible for next year's test to become fellow doctors unless they are trained at hospitals for more than three months.

In the wake of the court's ruling, the government has called on universities to quickly revise their regulations to reflect the increased medical school enrollment quota for next year.

nyway@yna.co.kr
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