The Korean Medical Professors' Association's special countermeasures committee held a press conference on the 21st, announcing the results of an online meeting held on the 20th with the Korean Intern and Resident Association, the Korean Medical Association, and the Korean Medical Students' Association. The Korean Medical Professors' Association has decided that starting on the 25th of this month, professors at medical universities nationwide will submit letters of resignation to their respective universities and reduce their working hours to the statutory 52 hours; from April 1st, they will primarily participate in the treatment of emergency and critically ill patients, and minimize outpatient treatment.
39 out of 40 medical universities in South Korea are members of the Korean Medical Professors' Association. The association's emergency countermeasures committee stated in the press conference that interns and residents had already been resigning and leaving their posts for five weeks, and that over the past five weeks, professors had been under immense physical and mental stress, with some professors having to work three night shifts per week and then continue working the next morning. If this continues, patients will also be put at risk. In order to ensure patient safety, the professors have made the decision to reduce their working hours, and they hope for understanding.
Regarding the results of the medical university expansion quota allocation announced by the South Korean government on the 20th, the Korean Medical Professors' Association's emergency countermeasures committee stated that "the government's announcement of the expansion quota allocation results does not mean that this incident is over," and called on the government to engage in active dialogue with the medical community. (CGTN reporter Zhang Yun)
(Original title: "Korean Medical Professors' Association: to Submit Resignations and Reduce Working Hours to 52 Hours Per Week on 25th")
