South Korean Government to Prosecute Medical Residents Refusing to Return to Work

The government has decided to principally conduct arrest investigations into the forces behind the illegal collective actions of residents and interns. They also plan to take individual residents who refuse to return to work to court.

The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety held a joint briefing on the collective actions in the medical community at the Government Complex Seoul in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, on the 21st and announced this.

The government has determined that the recent mass exodus of medical residents from medical institutions has directly endangered the lives and health of the citizens. They emphasized that while they continue to communicate and persuade, illegal collective actions will be punished in proportion to the severity of the illegality, using forced investigations if necessary.

The government has decided to thoroughly identify and crack down on those involved in illegal collective actions and those who manipulate and incite them from behind the scenes. Those responsible, including hospital directors at all levels who must prevent and remedy collective actions, will be held legally accountable if they neglect this duty.

In particular, they plan to strictly punish any severe harm, such as patient deaths caused by illegal collective actions. The government emphasized, “If the lives and health of patients are damaged due to illegal collective actions, we will hold them to the highest level of responsibility for this.”

The principle is to arrest and investigate the leaders and behind-the-scenes forces who continue to lead illegal collective actions without returning to the medical field despite the order to start work. Any act obstructing normal medical treatment or returning to treatment is also a strict punishment target.

Individual residents who refuse to return will also be referred to trial through formal indictment as a principle. However, the government believes this situation will be fully considered if they return early, even if they were temporarily involved in illegal collective actions.

The government also said, “We will take measures to ensure sufficient civil and criminal legal support to patients and their families whom the illegal collective actions of doctors have harmed.”

For this, they plan to utilize legal support infrastructures such as the “Korea Legal Aid Corporation,” “Legal Home Doctor,” and “Local Attorney.”