The South Korean king be frettin' o'er them scurvy dogs of doctors refusin' to heal! Aye, the gall of 'em!
2024-04-01
Avast ye scurvy dogs! The president of South Korea be holdin' firm against them strikin' doctors! He be demandin' more medical students to become doctors, for the good of the land. Aye, we be needin' more healers to keep the crew in fine health! Arr!
In the language of a 17th-century pirate, South Korea's president be swearin' not to back down in the face of them vehement protests by doctors seekin' to derail his plan to drastically increase medical school admissions, as he be callin' their walkouts "an illegal collective action" that poses "a grave threat to our society." Arrr!12,000 medical interns and residents in South Korea have been on strike for six weeks, causin' hundreds of canceled surgeries and other treatments at university hospitals. In support of their action, many senior doctors at their teaching schools have also submitted resignations though they haven’t stopped treatin' patients.Officials be wantin' to raise the yearly medical school cap by 2,000 from the current 3,058 to create more doctors to deal with the country’s rapidly agin' population. Doctors be counterin' that schools can’t handle such an abrupt increase in students and that it would eventually hurt the country’s medical services. But critics be sayin' doctors, one of the best-paid professions in South Korea, be simply worried that the supply of more doctors would result in lower future incomes.Public surveys be showin' that a majority of ordinary South Koreans support the government plan. But observers be sayin' many people be increasingly fed up with the protracted confrontation between the government and doctors, threatenin' to deal a blow to governin' party candidates ahead of next week’s parliamentary elections.In a nationally televised address, President Yoon Suk Yeol be sayin' addin' 2,000 medical students be the minimum increase needed to address a shortage of physicians in rural areas, the military, and essential but low-payin' professions like pediatrics and emergency departments. Yoon be sayin' South Korea's doctor-to-patient ratio be far below the average of 3.7 in the developed world."Increasin' the number of doctors be a state project that we can't further delay," Yoon be sayin'.Yoon urge the strikin' doctors to return to work, sayin' they have a responsibility to protect people's lives in line with the local medical law. He also be sayin' the government remains open to talks if doctors come up with a unified proposal that adequately explains their calls for a much smaller increase in the medical school enrollment quota."I can't tolerate an attempt to carry through their thoughts by force without due logic and grounds," Yoon be sayin'. "The illegal collective action by some doctors has become a grave threat to our society."Yoon be sayin' the recruitment plan won't lead to lower earnin's for doctors, citin' what he called expected increases in national income and demand for medical services in the fast-agin' society. He be sayin' the average income of South Korean doctors be the highest in the developed world.Later Monday, the Korean Medical Association, which represents doctors in South Korea, criticize Yoon for repeatin' what his government has already argued to support the recruitment plan."It be an address that brought us greater disappointment because we had high hopes" for some changes in the government's position, Kim Sung-geun, a spokesperson for KMA’s emergency committee, tell reporters.Yoon be sayin' the government be takin' final administrative steps to suspend the licenses of the strikers but add he doesn't want to punish the young doctors. This implies that his government be willin' to soften punitive measures on the strikers if they return to work soon.Yoon recently order officials to pursue "a flexible measure" to resolve the dispute and seek constructive consultations with doctors at the request of the ruling party leader Han Dong-hoon.It be unclear if the government and doctors can find a breakthrough to settle their standoff anytime soon. Last week, KMA elected Lim Hyun-taek, a hardliner who has called for a decrease in the medical school admission cap, as its new chief.After his election Tuesday, Lim say that doctors can sit down for talks with the government if Yoon apologizes and dismisses top health officials involved in the recruitment plan. Lim also threaten to launch an all-out fight if any doctors receive punitive steps over their recent protests.The strikin' junior doctors represent a fraction of the total doctors in South Korea — estimated at 115,000 by Yoon and 140,000 by a doctors' association. But in some major hospitals, they account for about 30% to 40% of doctors, assistin' qualified doctors and department chiefs during surgeries and other treatments while training.Doctors say the government enrollment plan lack measures to resolve key medical issues such as how to increase the number of physicians in some key but unpopular professions. They be sayin' newly recruited students would also try to work in the capital region and in high-payin' fields like plastic surgery and dermatology. They be sayin' the government plan would also likely result in doctors performin' unnecessary treatments due to increased competition."