The Ministry of Health promises greater support for intern doctors amid the strike

He Ministry of Health and Social Welfare SouthKorean has announced that it will provide more financial support to trainee doctors and begin a trial operation to reduce their working hours, amid a prolonged strike.

Deputy Vice Minister of Health Jun Byung-wang told reporters that the pilot program will reduce the continuous working hours of trainee doctors from the current 36 to approximately 24-30 hours a week.

“The new law, which reduces the working hours of trainee doctors, will be implemented in February 2026,” Jun said, noting that the pilot program is designed to prepare for its subsequent full implementation.

The ministry stated that the pilot program, which will run until April next year, will be implemented in 42 hospitals throughout the country, and six of them will apply the initiative starting this Friday.

Based on data collected in 2022, the Government estimates that trainee doctors currently work around 77.7 hours per week, significantly more than in other countries.

Jun added that South Korea is accelerating efforts to improve the work environment for doctor trainees, saying that it plans to make “an unprecedented expansion” in support for their training.

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Some 12,000 doctoral trainees have remained without worksince February 20, in protest of the plan to increase the admission quota for medical schools by 2,000 places, which has caused disruptions in general hospitals and emergency rooms.

Jun added that the ministry’s policy of applying flexible measures for trainee doctors participating in the strike remains unchanged, but the specific actions will vary depending on the length of their absence.

The deputy deputy minister assured that if the striking doctors return to their jobs, the Government will study ways to help them complete your training on time.

Amid little chance for dialogue between the government and the medical community, the Korean Medical Association (KMA), South Korea’s largest organization of doctors, held overnight candlelight vigils on Thursday, warning of a protest “across the country.” rule” against the reform plan, in June.

In response, Jun said that any additional collective action, which causes inconvenience to the public, “would be meaningless,” considering that the admission quota for medical schools for next year has already been finalized.